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Truck Farming 

IN 

The Everglades 

By WALTER W A L D I N 



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CopyrighTi '1910 

BY 

WALTER WALDIN 



©CI.A273937 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

L To the Prospective Truck Gardener 5 

II. Agricultural Schools 7 

III. The Man Fitted for the Business 9 

IV. Capital Required - 12 

V. Location and Selection of Soil 15 

VI. The Everglade Section 17 

VII. Preparation of the Land ; 21 

VIII. No Present Danger of Overproduction 23 

IX. Selling F. O. B 26 

X. Drainage 29 

XI. Irrigation 34 

XII. Stable Manure and Fertilizer 38 

XIII. Culture of Tomatoes 48 

XIV. Culture of Potatoes 55 

XV. Culture of Peppers 60 

XVI. Culture of. Egg Plants 65 

XVII. Culture of Beans 70 

XVIIL Culture of Celery 75 

XIX. Culture of Cucumbers 81 

XX. Culture of Cauliflower and Cabbage 84 

XXI. Culture of Lettuce 89 

XXII. Culture of Watermelons and Muskmelons 91 

XXIII. Culture of Onions 93 

XXIV. Culture of Okra 96 

XXV. Culture of Squash and Pumpkins 98 

XXVI. Culture of Sweet Potatoes 99 

XXVII. Culture of Strawberries 102 

XXVIII. Culture of Bananas 105 

XXIX. Culture of Paw-Paws 108 

XXX. Culture of Pineapples 112 

XXXI. Culture of Jamaica Sorrel 116 

XXXII. Culture of Forage Plants 118 

XXXIII. Insects and Fungi 123 

XXXIV. Tree Growing in Connection With Trucking. ... 129 
XXXV. Notes on Frost 132 

XXXVI. Birds 137 

XXXVII. Summarv . ..'. I39 



CHAPTER I. 




TO THE PROSPECTIVE TRUCK GARDENER. 

O the city man, living on a salary, often in a 
dark or stuffy office, always an underling, 
working in a narrow groove, dependent on 
today's wages for tomorrow's food, the inde- 
pendent countryman's life must appeal, for he 
is a free man, master of himself, is conversant 
with nature in its many moods, enjoys the first 
fruits of the earth with the gleam still on them, 
and all its first impulses and pleasures. Often, as we hear country 
boys, on the threshold of manhood, taunted with being farmers, it 
makes me feel that the city boy requires training other than agri- 
cultural to teach him relative values. 

City people sojourning in the country for fresh air and cheaper 
living, looking down on the farmer as inferior, will scarcely 
believe that it requires more brains to run a farm properly than 
to sit over a ledger, nor can they fathom the many experiences 
that the countryman must necessarily first master before he can 
be classed as a successful landholder. 

The cit}^, glistening with its many frivolities, has drawn young 
people from the country to such an alarming extent that universal 
comment has been aroused, much the larger percentage of our 
population being today engaged in other than pastoral pursuits. 
This in itself would not be so alarming, were it not that the vitality 
of our nation is being drained proportionately, for it is a well- 
known fact, if the country should today cease to replenish the city 
with new blood, the city would soon die for want of population. 

No wonder, then, the cry of today is, "Back to the farm and 
nature." And back we must and will go, for this threatening 
catastrophe is too appalling to be passed by unchallenged. 



6 TRUCK FARMING 

Will not this undue proportion of population tending city- 
wards have the effect of still enhancing the price of all farm 
products ? This great question has already been answered by the 
protests against high prices of our entire population, re-echoing as 
it has to the farthest corners of our civilized land. In direct con- 
sequence of this unbalanced condition of population, all food 
products have advanced to an almost prohibitive figure. This 
seems particularly so during the long winter months, when fresh 
farm products are to be grown only in the far South. 

Will it not be wise to inquire into the probable results of this 
extraordinary situation? W^ithout penetrating further, has not 
the far-seeing individual, though hopelessly in the minority, 
already found the necessary remedy to combat this, which we 
must admit is a great and menacing evil? He has already con- 
cluded to not only rebuild this tottering economic structure by 
getting "back to the land," .but to replenish his depleted bank 
account, and wisely so. 

That this feeling has already taken root is proven by the 
remarkable inquiry for farm lands throughout the entire country, 
and particularly in the extreme South and Southeast, for he who 
is wise enough to foresee this great tendency wishes to enjoy with 
his family and progeny not only everlasting summer, but at the 
same time to avoid the rigorous Northern winters. No wonder, 
then, that once it was announced that the great rich body of land 
in South Florida known as the Everglades would be reclaimed, 
thousands began to avail themselves of the valuable opportunity 
to secure a home and a livelihood in this superb climate — in a 
country where fortunes have been and will be made, with probably 
less exertion, on a smaller body of land, under morq pleasant 
circumstances, and in less time than in any known place on earth. 



CHAPTER II. 




AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS. 

GRICULTURAL education is at last recognized 
and conceded to be a necessity for the advance- 
ment of a nation. Our far-seeing statesmen 
recognize the value of the scientific advance- 
ment of agriculture and are gradually awaken- 
ing to the fact that it is of more importance to 
a nation than mere Dreadnaughts. Well devel- 
oped farming communities are worth more in- 
trinsically than overpopulated business centers. Elementary agri- 
culture is now being taught in many schools, and as soon as its 
real value is exploited wall become the fundamental study in all 
schools. It is already being recognized as the real foundation of 
business prosperity. 

The farm is where sound minds grow in sound bodies, and 
where the perfection of intelligence is attained. It is here where 
high moral standards flourish and are brought to still higher ele- 
vations. He who is brought up amidst verdant nature, unham- 
pered and micontaminated by vulgar business methods such as are 
practiced and are prevalent in thickly settled cities, is in possession 
of a much higher development of manhood and is apt to 
attain such positions of prominence as will satisfy man's highest 
ambitions. 




DOCKS, MIAMI RIVER. 




YACHTS ANCHORED AT ROYAL PALM DOCKS, MIAMI. 



CHAPTER III. 



THE MAN FITTED FOR THE BUSINESS. 




ERE I to select an ideal for this business, it 
would, of course, be a man of not only unusual 
strength of body and character but one having 
a great amount of both common sense and per- 
severance. Unfortunately, very few men have 
all of these qualities, but those who have weaker 
bodies often have the other essentials to a more 
marked degree. If you think you are a hustler, 
or rather if your neighbors think you are (and that is the only 
true sign), if you are of a persevering nature, if you are a friend 
of outdoor labor,- if you don't get tired easily, even though you 
have but the ordinary vitality and strength, you can, and most 
likely will, make a successful farmer. 

The veritable giant, with all his strength and stature, is often 
outdone by the ordinary man, possessed of the other useful char- 
acteristics, for often weather or other conditions over which he 
has no control interfere very seriously with the countryman's 
plans, and in a short time practically annihilate his efiforts. It is 
then that the man with perseverance and stability comes to the 
front and often builds great success upon the very ashes of former 
failures. That this quality is necessary is easily proven, for each 
and every farmer, be he ever so successful, can recount at least 
one and often more incidents in his past in which his best efforts 
have been utterly wasted through no fault of his own whatever. 
There is no mystery in the business ; but success depends upon 
hard work, good judgment and capable business management. 

In a word, he who is successful elsewhere is apt to be more 
successful here, his only competitor, the average Southern farmer, 
being not only a very indifferent business man, but often not 



10 TRUCK FARMING 

overly industrious ; whereas, his Northern brother is generally in 
possession of both these virtues, and is, in addition, of an econom- 
ical disposition, a quality sadly lacking in most of our Southern 
tillers of the soil. This shiftless lack of economy and industry, 
so eminently characteristic in the South, is not caused, as is so 
often asserted, by climatic conditions, but rather by a lack of edu- 
cational facilities for the youth as well as the adult. For who will 
deny that the Northern farmer, together with his forefathers, 
has been forced into economy and frugality for centuries past by 
his competitors in business? This condition has never con- 
fronted the Southerner, he experiencing no privations caused by 
long winters which make inroads upon his purse. It is, therefore, 
a fact that the Northern husbandman, educated as he is in a supe- 
rior manner, has man}' advantages in the South. 

Shall the prospective grower come to this part of the country? 
Yes, by all means ; and although certain branches may be and will 
be overdone, we have up to the present time been unable to supply 
even a small percentage of the country's population with our prod- 
ucts. We will soon learn to diversify, and when we get to raising 
sugar cane, rice, etc., we will certainly run short of land. Thus, 
though the field be large, the possibilities are larger. 

Our matchless climate is a great temptation to prospective 
immigrants. Many come here who cannot endure the rigid North- 
ern climate; others (and I fear the majority) come here tempted 
b}^ the fabulous prices often received by us for our products — in 
other words, they are attracted by the almighty dollar alone. To 
these poor, grasping individuals I wish to extend my sympathy, 
for I certainly feel sorry for those who do not naturally love their 
vocation ; who cannot honestly admire nature and her many beau- 
tiful products ; who do not even feel inspired or spurred onward 
by smaller successes to larger ones. 

Yes, indeed, he who cannot work hand in hand with nature — 
who sees only the dollar when others admire beautiful nature — 
certainly deserves derision only, and can be regarded only with 
abject pity. On the other hand, he who loves nature and tries to 
operate with it is uniformly successful, his rewards being double, 
the money consideration being secondary, though often — yes. 



IN THE EVERGLADES n 

almost always- — he is rewarded with a much higher price in actual 
cash than his poor misguided brother. 

God loves his fellow-workman and willingly lends a hand to 
those who cheerfully seek his co-operation. It is much easier to 
cultivate a cheerful disposition while you are cultivating your 
crops than to look upon your handiwork with a sordid, unappre- 
ciative expression. Smile, and nature smiles with you, and happi- 
ness, contentment, as well as prosperity, will follow your footsteps. 




CHAPTER IV. 

CAPITAL REQUIRED. 

ROBABLY nowhere can an individual start a 
business, agricultural or otherwise, with less 
cash than right here in South Florida, and 
nowhere can the agriculturist find a better place 
to invest his money. 

A man can, if he has strength, perseverance, 
and knows the business, make a fortune here 
with but little capital ; in fact, all of our lead- 
ing truckers came here poor, and I do not know of a single one 
who brought much capital with which to start. It therefore seems 
not so much a matter of how much capital a man has, but rather 
how he invests it. 

The successful go at a thing without bluster and have accom- 
plished the greater part of their undertakings before their neigh- 
bor is aware of it. On the other hand, the boastful beginner 
often ends in ignominious failure. A conservative estimate of 
the amount of cash rec[uired to start a truck farm here will 
depend, therefore, much on the individual himself. 

Allowing he has a five or ten acre farm, including house and 
shed room, he will need, in addition, a horse or mule ($150), 
wagon and harness ($50), implements and incidentals ($100). 
He will also need about $40 worth of good fertilizer* to the acre 
(for intensive operations), besides horse-feed and provender for 
himself and family if he has one, making about $700 necessary 
and sufficient to start five acres in truck. If, however, he is not 
a worker, he will need v\7ages for a hired man, and this will add 
materially to the expense and deduct from the profits propor- 
tionately. 



See last part of Chapter VI. 

12 



IN THE EVERGLADES 13 

Of course beginnings have been made more often with much 
less money, and with splendid results. I will relate here my own 
experience in this line. My start was made wirh a capital of 
$1,000, and out of this a house costing $400 was built, and six 
acres of truck planted, mostly in tomatoes, resulting after six 
months of close application in a gain of $3,400, after all liills were 
paid, including expenses of a family of five. No help was engaged 
until it came time to pick, pack and ship. IVc did the work. 

Many cases have been known in which truckers have given 
part of their time to working out for neighbors, earning thereby 
enough to carry their expenses, virtually getting along without 
capital, and winning out handsomely at the end of the season. 
Again, some will start on a wholesale scale, investing large sums 
in land, labor, tools and fertilizers, but by hiring indifferent help 
and trusting the project to some one else, make an utter failure. 
In a word, this business requires constant individual attention, 
and he who trusts to disinterested people generally fails, as he 
deserves to. 

I would always recommend to all beginners that the}'- keep a 
reserve of funds at hand for any emergency, such as may be 
caused b_v excessive drouths, wet spells, frosts or other unlooked- 
for obstacles. While advice of the neighborly kind is sometimes 
good, it is best to use one's own judgment and common sense in 
all matters of life before accepting some one else's say so. This 
is particularly so in matters pertaining to trucking and farming 
operations in Florida. 




DREDGE OKEECHOBEE DRAINING THE EVERGLADES. 




RAW RECLAIMED EVERGLADE LAND, LEVEL AS A PRAIRIE. 




CHAPTER V. 

LOCATION AND SELECTION OF SOIL. 

ROBABLY the most important factor to the 
truck gardener is the selection of the soil. True, 
vegetables are grown in nearly all kinds of soil. 
but with greatl}^ varying results. LTnless the 
soil be not only rich, but of good depth, and 
underlaid with a more or less porous subsoil, 
to admit both water and air, results will not 
be satisfactory. We have in extreme Southern 
Florida a number of different kinds of soil, from the deep, rich 
alluvial soil, better known as muck beds, to the poorest white 
drifting sands, almost too poor to support any kind of vegetation. 
It is a fact that less than one per cent of the farming in this 
entire State is done on any but soil of a very inferior nature. 
However, close investigation has convinced me that most of the 
best farm land lies dormant today for want of proper drainage. 
On first sight it seems as though this could be easily remedied, 
for although the country is comparatively level, the good land is 
surrounded by somewhat higher ridges, making drainage more 
difficult ; and, in addition, the swamps are usually very large, and 
correspondingly large ditches must be excavated. This necessi- 
tates the expenditure of more money than can readily be raised by 
the individual, and must be undertaken by the larger corporations 
or by the State. 

Pine land, when underlaid by a clay subsoil, gives very fair 
results; especially is this so if under irrigation by the method 
better known as the overhead system (see chapter on "Irriga- 
tion"). South of the Miami River there are among the rocky 
pine lands lying adjacent to the Atlantic ocean numerous pockets, 
often many acres in extent, where excellent crops of peppers, 
tomatoes and eggplants, as well as beans, are grown to perfection. 



i6 TRUCK FARMING 

However, it requires almost double the amount of fertiliser to 
properly grow a crop on this soil as on the dark land of the 
Glades, and the profits are cut correspondingly. 

The better classes of pine-land soil are underlaid, besides with 
clay, with a porous coraline limestone, which, when not too far 
above the water level, will provide ample moisture through the 
capillary attraction of the sun, drawing the water up from beneath 
the reach of the roots of the plants, not unlike a lamp wick. Some 
useful fertilizer ingredients also are pumped within reach of the 
plant roots by this natural method. Still further south, in what 
is locally known as the Homestead country, are very shallow beds 
of land composed of an admixture of sand and clay, containing 
nearly two per cent of iron and aluminum, in addition to almost, 
one per cent of phosphate. This soil, however shallow, produces 
excellent vegetables, and does not require as much fertilizer as 
ordinary pine land. 




CHAPTER VI. 

THE EVERGLADE SECTION. 

ITHOUT doubt, the richest soil in the State is 
in the section known as the Everglades. This 
great swamp covers an area of over four 
thousand square miles, embracing considerably 
more than half of the territory lying south of 
Lake Okeechobee. This region does not pre- 
sent an impenetrable thicket, as is so often sup- 
posed, but it is in appearance more like an Illi- 
nois prairie, dotted here and there with a clump of trees, quite 
similar to our Northern windbreaks, the only difference being that 
they have been covered during the rainy season with more or less 
water. This vast area is also covered with large patches of coarse 
grass, which, on account of the leaves or blades having rough or 
serrated saw-like edges, is called saw-grass. 

This grass in places grows so rank as to form a dense mass, 
often ten feet high. Through this tall grass here and there are 
winding, tortuous channels which, after enticing the canoeist 
through a maze, terminate more often in a still denser barrier of 
saw-grass. During the dry season these saw-grass beds are often 
fired by the Indians in quest of game, and burn to the ground, 
accompanied by loud popping noises not unlike the cracking of 
rifles in sham battles. 

Should the rainy season begin after one of these saw-grass 
fires, the life is smothered out of the roots by the water standing 
over them, and as these patches seem to have accumulated a 
great amount of humus, being frequently several inches higher 
than the surrounding land, they form an enticing seed-bed for 
trees, and low hammocks are frequently formed in this way. 
There seems to be no part of this immense elevated plateau that is 



17 



i8 TRUCK FARMING 

not reclaimable, or that will not respond to man's useful influence 
and energy, and thus be made extremely valuable. 

Since the land is free from stumps and trees, the item of clear- 
ing needs little consideration — simply burning the grass cleans the 
land for the plow. The soil, although the very richest, is easily 
worked and irrigated and has, in addition, such climate and loca- 
tion as to make it extraordinarily valuable. The ease with which 
this kind of soil can be cultivated, on account of its light and 
porous nature, is another very attractive feature, especially when 
compared to the stiff, heavy soils of other States. Another favor- 
able consideration is that the busy season comes here during the 
coolest and most pleasant time of the year, and though the 
labor be ever so hard, one can work in shirt sleeves ana without 
perspiring. 

Analysis of this soil shows, besides traces of potash and phos- 
phate, as high as three per cent of ammonia, it being in this 
respect a very rich fertilizer. When this tract is sufficiently 
drained and the possibility of overflow from Lake Okeechobee is 
removed, it will without a doubt become the largest, most pro- 
ductive Olid most profitable garden spot in the United States. 

The surface soil, and the subsoil particularly, varies consid- 
erably, some parts having a subsoil of marl, some sand, and in 
other places the muck is many feet deep. Where there is an 
admixture of sand and muck, it is not only easier to till, but is 
naturally much better aerated and in consec^uence contains less 
acidity. 

Were I asked to select an ideal soil I would prefer a deep 
sandy muck well decomposed, situated where it can be easily 
drained, preferabl}" on or near the bank of one of the canals, 
by means of which also the produce can be transported by barge 
directly to the steamer lines plying to and from the northern mar- 
kets, thus getting advantage of the cheapest mode of trans- 
portation. 

This section is attracting many settlers and when once under 
intensive tillage will become, without a single doubt, the heaviest 
producing area in the United States. It is simply wonderful to 



IN THE EVERGLADES 19 

think that such a large tract should have not only the richest 
soil and finest climate, but be so located as to be subject to 
subirrigation throughout, with Lake Okeechobee as a reservoir 
and the entire Kissimmee River valley as a never failing supplv 
of not alone water but humus as well. When to this is added 
the water transportation it is no wonder that thousands have 
bought and will buy homes here. This country can easily pro- 
duce forage enough to supply a million head of cattle the year 
around. 

^ jjc :ji ^ 

I have often wondered why the black muck of the Everglades 
should contain two or three times as much nitrogen as similar 
land in the North. The only wa}^ I can account for this condition 
is that the severe disintegrating action of the frost in the North 
frees a much greater proportion of the ammonia, thus making it 
water soluble, by which agency much of it is washed from the soil 
and wasted. 

As we can till soil here in the South and keep it active 
throughout the entire year, all the nitrogen necessary will be freed 
to grow abundant crops, and for this reason, if for no other, the 
producing ability of this Everglade muck soil will be wonderful. 

There is no doubt whatever in my mind that this most expensive 
element (nitrogen) can be entirely dispensed with in our fer- 
tilizers for Everglade land as soon as the land is sufficiently re- 
claimed and aerated to remove enough of the everpresent acidity 
to allow the germs of nitrification free action. That this is true is 
proven by the fact that recently drained land here already produces 
fully twice the wild growth it formerly did. 




PLOWING NEWLY RECLAIMED EVERGLADE LAND. 




SEED-BEDS IN THE EVERGLADES. TOMATO FIELD IN BACKGROUND. 




CHAPTER VII. 
PREPARATION OF THE LAND. 

OWHERE will the old adage "A stitch in time 
saves nine" apply so strongly as here, and the 
experienced grower invariably gives his soil a 
most thorough preparation by plowing, disking 
and pulverizing until a deep, mellow, compact 
seed bed is prepared. Often in this part of the 
country it is preferable to plow some time in 
advance of the cropping season, so as to let the 
land settle thoroughly, if possible catching some of the later trop- 
ical rains to help settle the soil before finally harrowing to a fine 
seed or plant bed. 

This method of preparation has many decided advantages, 
inasmuch as it has a tendency to wash out any acidity contained 
in the soil, and deposit nitrogen absorbed from the air by falling 
rain, thus finding here a tempting seed bed in which to start 
bacterial propagation. The careful, experienced grower has his 
mind made up in advance as to the number of acres he wishes 
to plant of any given variety. He plows carefully, turning a 
straight, uniform furrow, in even sized lands. Should the soil 
contain acidity he gives the sun a chance to act before he harrows 
it down, and applies lime or wood ashes to further remedy this 
defect. All furrows must be plowed in the proper direction so 
water can find easy access to the lateral ditches by way of the 
dead furrows, for more thorough drainage. 

If you are a novice you had better have some one experienced 
lay off your lands, or lay out your rows, for if crooked they 
will not only be harder to work, but will be an everlasting eyesore. 
In case the land is seeded naturally with foul weed seeds, it is a 
great saving to harrow thoroughly and let them come up several 
times, and bv repeated harrowings destrov the majority of them. 



21 



22 TRUCK FARAIING 

This procedure cuts clown much labor when the crop is planted. 
Some of the best planters put in a summer cover crop of 
velvet beans, beggar-weed or cowpeas. This is not only a cheap 
way to store nitrogen, but the soil will be vastly superior in a 
mechanical way if shaded from our tropical sun during the sum- 
mer months. This method is further commended because these 
leguminous plants produce a valuable crop for hay or forage when 
the land w^ould otherwise be dormant or grow to foul weeds. The 
clearing ofif of land thus planted is very easy and, when raked 
over with a horse rake, will often be found to be in fine compact 
condition for disking or harrowing without further labor of 
plowing. 




CHAPTER VIII. 

XO PRESENT DANGER OF OA'ERPRODUCTIOX. 

UCH controversy has been brought up at dif- 
ferent times concerning the danger of the 
trucking business being overdone in this terri- 
tory. To famiharize ourselves with this, let us 
consider the conditions that have prevailed in 
former years. 

I remember that nine or ten years ago a 
light shipment of ten cars of tomatoes going 
out in a single day had a depressing effect on the Xorthern mar- 
kets. The prices in New York at that time depreciated from 
the mere anticipation of this quantity of tomatoes being thrown 
upon the market at one time. However, a few^ years later as 
high as 25 to 35 and even 50 car-loads of this same fruit were 
placed upon the market daily and it seems did not have the effect 
of reducing prices to as great an extent as those former light ship- 
ments did. During the season 1909-10, over 100 car-loads of 
tomatoes were shipped from Dade County per day for thirty 
consecutive days, and wonderful to relate, although the market at 
that time was not what we would consider high, it held its own 
remarkably well. 

Whether this is actually due to increased consumption or not, 
I am not in position to state. I think probably the weather 
being very pleasant throughout the X^orth during the months of 
our greatest shipments, had considerable to do with it. It stands 
to reason that wdien the people of the North find Spring at hand, 
particularly after they have been penned up in their houses by 
inclement weather for months at a time, their appetites nat- 
urally have an abnormal tendency towards vegetables. During 
the time of cold weather in the X'orth ever^•bodv has naturallv 



2.3 



24 TRUCK FARMING 

eaten largely of meats, therefore the first few sunny days are 
apt to bring the good housewife into the open, and the tempt- 
ing vegetables displa3'ed at this time of the year by the green 
grocers have a strong tendency to induce her to invest in the vari- 
ous Southern products, so attractively displayed. 

One thing we can always depend upon, no matter how large 
the acreage originally planted, there are always many failures to 
be chronicled before the season is well advanced. Excessive 
rains, drouth, ravages of fungi and insects have a tendency not 
only to annihilate the crop, but often cause a number of our 
novices to discontinue the business entirely. I have often met 
people, unfamiHar with the business, who comparatively early in 
the season were so disheartened that they simply gave up the 
struggle, for which they were sorry later on, as the prices usually, 
in consequence of inclement weather or the other conditions named 
above, advanced to an almost prohibitive figure. 

The old grower, on the other hand, being familiar with pro- 
duction, and having in past years experienced unfavorable as well 
as encouraging experiences, usually is persistent and keeps right 
on persevering, and for this reason almost invariably comes out 
at the end of the season with flying colors. I frequently have 
known peppers, for instance, to be begging on the market, thereby 
causing many of those easily discouraged to neglect their crops 
to such an extent as to give them over to the weeds, and then 
for the market to advance to such a figure that those who had 
been untiring and faithful in their work, realized a most hand- 
some profit in the very years in which the largest acreage had 
originally been planted. This is equally true of other crops. 

So familiar ha;ve we grown with the different obstacles to. be 
encountered and such sturdy control have we of the conditions 
here found, that it is a common saying in the South that we 
make crops here. Probably our familiarity and success with the 
use of a well balanced fertilizer is what leads us to want to 
monopolize all the credit of growing our crops, forgetting that 
Nature is the most important adjunct. 




FREIGHT STEAMER AT WHARF, MIAMI. THIS BOAT LINE INSURES LOW RATES 

TO THE GROWERS. 




UNLOADING BARGES AT FT. LAUDERDALE DOCKS. 




CHAPTER IX. 

SELLING F. O. B. 

\'ERYTHING should be done to encourage 
cash F. O. B. sales of our products. Unscru- 
pulous dealers usually have a great number of 
drummers locally known as ''tomato or veg- 
etable buzzards" canvassing our country. They 
frequently quote high prices on our products, 
but are very careful not to tie themselves down 
b}- contract to any given figure. ''A bird in the 
hand is worth two in the bush" applies here very readily. We 
often find that our buyer will offer us a certain figure for one 
of our products, which price has been inflated by the representa- 
tive. We are tempted to take the risk and ship our products to 
his firm, only to receive a very insignificant return for the same. 

It should also be remembered that if we were all to adhere to 
the cash or F. O. B. system of selling we would in a short time 
have the matter so well in hand that no loss whatever would be 
incurred and we could go home from market with the cash 
jingling in our pockets, sleeping well at night and not being 
obliged to think and wonder and fret about the uncertainty of 
our returns. For this reason also, numerous packing houses have 
been established throughout our growing section by the growers 
themselves. Some packing houses are owned or controlled by 
dishonest dealers, who not only ship our stuff indiscriminately, but 
often have a direct understanding and come here for no other 
purpose than to deceive. 

The annual loss through dishonest commission men amounts 
in the aggregate to an enormous figure throughout this section of 
the country. Co-operation among the growers whereby these 
frauds can be detected and exposed would work a great benefit 

26 



IN THE EVERGLADES 27 

in favor of the ag'riculturists of this section ; and each and everv- 
one of the new-comers should reahze this, and should bear in 
mind that one of his first duties should be to join a branch of the 
Local Association now being established throughout this section 
and thereb}' help to eradicate this dishonest element. 




STATE CANAL IN THE EVERGLADES^ FOR DRAINAGE^ IRRIGATION AND 
TRANSPORTATION. 



*' '■'•"^ M 






-mi.^'-'^i^ ._. 






■""^Slfe^"' 


-.<^v^4m^!^9hhB 






HVi'tv 








^kn 





TEMPORARY DAM IN STATE CANAL, TO BE REPLACED LATER BY PERJ'IANENT LOCKS. 




CHAPTER X. 

DRAINAGE. 

WET soggy soil will not produce, and all lands 
on which farming or truck gardening is con- 
templated must first be thoroughly drained of 
all surplus water to a sufficient depth to allow 
a free circulation of air, and ample room for the 
natural development of the roots, allowing them 
to penetrate the subsoil in quest of moisture 
and other necessary ingredients. A well drained 
soil not only offers a firm, deep foothold for all kinds of trees 
and plants, but allows the rain to percolate and in turn admits the 
air sufficiently to start the millions of minute yeast-like organisms, 
called microbes or bacteria, to start decomposition or nitrification 
of the soil. Neither these bacteria nor plant roots can exist for 
any length of time in earth saturated with water, as this unfavor- 
able condition produces an acidity which rapidly either renders 
them dormant or destroys them entirely. 

Soil containing the proper amount of moisture is in a con- 
stant state of intensive activity, every square inch being filled 
with millions of these useful germs, whose ofiice it is to digest 
or make available the ingredients necessary to produce plant 
growth. 

Air is just as necessary for the development of plants as it is 
for animals. It must be present in sufficient quantities to oxidize 
the various plant foods, making them soluble and ready for 
absorption by the feeding rootlets. Drainage, therefore, is neces- 
sary not alone to remove surplus water, but also to encourage the 
development of these organisms, without which successful agri- 
culture would be impossible. A rich deeply plowed soil that is 
well drained will hold moisture much longer than if plowed 



2Q 



30 TRUCK FARMING 

shallow, and will feed plants accordingly, which fact has been 
often demonstrated during protracted drouths. Especially is this 
true where clay or muck predominates. Thorough drainage will 
work wonders, as has often been evidenced in the enormous 
increase in productions where it has been accomplished. 

In soil where clay, marl or muck predominates the lateral 
ditches should be deep rather than wide. A large proportion of 
the failures recorded can be directly attributed to either the 
entire omission of any kind of drains, or drains of insufficient 
capacity or depth to remove the acid stagnant waters or to allow 
the air free access to decompose the ingredient vegetable matter. 
Just how long these useful bacteria can exist under water has 
not been ascertained, but they are known to live in running water 
for a much longer time than in stagnant water, thus proving that 
land containing active drains can be overflowed with much less 
damage to the soil than when undrained. Drainage is therefore 
of the utmost importance to the practical and scientific agricul- 
turist, and where it does not exist naturally it must be supplied 
artificially. 

Soil of a compact nature can be drained with tile — laid under 
ground when the fall is sufficient — with splendid results, but when 
the land is very level, and in a country where great quantities of 
rain fall in a very short time, open ditches of sufficient depth and 
capacity are preferable. The larger of these ditches, say eight 
feet or over in width, offer splendid transportation facilities for 
the removal of crops of a bulky nature, or to bring in fertilizing 
material, etc. 

The smaller sub-lateral ditches should be dug about i8 inches 
deep and close enough together to remove the surface water in a 
few hours after a hard rainfall. These sub-lateral ditches should 
be placed about 20 to 30 feet apart. These same ditches can be 
used for irrigation by forcing the water through them by way of 
head ditches. Of course, this applies only to a level country, and 
land that can be drained in this way, if otherwise suitable, can 
be used for planting trees, especially if the land is plowed two or 
three times, throwing the earth in the same direction, forming a 



IN THE EVERGLADES 31 

ridge or apex, say a foot or more above the general level of the 
field. This apex will drain the land towards the ditches and forms 
an admirable place to plant trees upon, securing them at all times 
from standing water. 

All ditches should be dug with sloping sides to prevent their.. 
caving. The width and depth should be kept uniform, for one 
must bear in mind that the capacity or delivery of a ditch is 
governed by the narrowest or shallowest place in it. 

In case the land is extra level, great care must be taken to 
see that these laterals have sufficient fall, and for this purpose an 
instrument had better be used, a carpenter's level equipped with 
level sights being satisfactory for small fields. The lands of the 
Everglades are admirably suited for this manner of drainage. 
The open ditches can here be dug on almost a level, and for this 
reason these same ditches can be used for irrigation, by simply 
keeping the water-table where the crop will be benefited the most. 
This can be further facilitated by putting in miniature gates or 
locks, so water can be let in or out as the occasion may demand. 
It will be necessary to install a pump for raising the water to the 
level of the ditches in a dry time for irrigation, but this pump can 
in turn be used to carry out water in wet spells, thus serving a 
double purpose. 

The expense of a pump for this purpose need not be heavy. 
Since the lift is very slight a cheap outfit will raise a great amount 
of water. This method, in my opinion, will find great favor in 
this region. 

I feel that I would not be doing this subject complete justice 
without referring to the danger of one's being tempted to trust 
to luck and attempt to farm on level land without first making 
ample provision by digging these lateral ditches. Long con- 
tinuous drouths will disarm one in this respect and wull convince 
the individual to take precedent as a guide. Failures are to be 
traced to this every season, as one is apt to think that because it 
did not rain one season it will be dry the next also, and so on. 
I sav, DON'T TAKE ANY CHANCES. We seldom have two 



2,2 TRUCK FARMING 

seasons alike following each other anywhere ; and here in Florida 
there have not been two alike in my experience. 

True, it may look a little foolish on your own part to have 
expended a snug sum for ditches only to have a protracted drouth 
follow; however, even here if you are alive to the situation you 
will, if you have not already done so, at once install an irrigating 
plant and come out with flying colors. If it does not rain when 
your crop is nearly made, you will find your efforts doubly repaid, 
for the best prices are usually obtained in seasons wherein the 
]iiost unusual freaks of weather appear. In fact, I have, governed 
by many experiences of the past, learned to quit guessing at the 
weather, but just to try and guard against all kind of excesses, 
and when caught unawares try and meet the situation, however 
unfavorable, as best I can, resolving in the future to try and 
guard against a repetition of the same mistake, with the result 
that I have met with flattering success. 



w 



v.v- 




DYKE AND LATERAL DITCHES ON MR. WALDIN'S EVERGLADE FARM. 




TROUGH FOR SURFACE IRRIGATION. 




CHAPTER XL 
IRRIGATION. 

O matter how rich our country may be in an 
agricultural way, or how deep and black the 
soil, it would soon cease to produce if moisture 
were withheld, as all plant growth absorbs 
food in liquid form. In the first place the very 
microbes, whose function it is to prepare the 
meals undergTOund, cease action and become 
dormant when the soil becomes dry, but are 
awakened to active life at once upon coming into contact with 
moisture. Unfortunately there is no known land on this wide 
earth where it rains just enough either to suit plant development 
or to please everybody, hence if we wish tO' be uniformly success- 
ful we must supply as well as remove water artificially. In loca- 
tions where the moisture supply is under absolute control, the most 
intensive and successful farm operations are carried on and the 
greatest amount of products grown per acre. 

Successful planters, being ambitious, are continually striving to 
do better, hence better methods are adopted as quickly as they are 
a proven success, and for this reason many are preparing to 
irrigate in all parts of South Florida, especially since our crops 
here are grown principally in or during the dry season of the 
year. 

There is considerable inquiry in regard to the irrigation sub- 
ject, and various kinds of plants are being installed. The styles 
of plants are governed by the kind of soil and subsoil, whether 
sand, muck, clay, or marl, the latter three possessing the faculty of 
retaining moisture to a much greater degree than the first named. 
The water supply also governs the kind of plant installed to a 
large degree. On land with sand or rock subsoil, irrigation is 



34 



IN THE EVERGLADES 35 

accomplished by what is locally known as the overhead system. 
It is a very successful method, as it not only is economical of 
water, but it would be impossible to hold water in sandy subsoil on 
account of its leachy character. This style is the most costly to 
install. Besides the expense of mains, consisting of 2 to 4 inch 
pipe, laterals must be laid 25 to 40 feet apart, with long or short 
stand pipes (usually about 6 feet high) of ^-inch iron pipe 
placed a corresponding distance apart. 

These stand pipes are crowned with various kinds of spray 
nozzles, aiming chiefly to get such a nozzle as will distribute over 
as large an area as possible. This system has its advantages as 
well as its disadvantages. Among the former may be counted 
the prevention of damaging frost; it also washes ofT red spider 
and makes it unpleasant for leaf-eating insects ; on the other hand, 
it has a tendency to produce a class of fungi such as flourish best 
where the foliage is damp. 

This overhead system requires a pressure of about 25 pounds 
per square inch to properly force the water and to generate such a 
spray as will best imitate a fine rain. Spraying is best applied 
evenings or during the night, but beneficial applications can be 
made during cloudy weather. In all attempts at irrigation, 3'-ou 
will make no mistake by using a surplus of water and by keeping 
the soil — especially if of a sandy nature — constantly in a moist 
condition ; and unless this is done religiously, absolute failure is 
liable to result. 

Probably the method that is most successful is the one of 
placing under-ground tiles and forcing water through them. 
This is the system so largely used at Sanford, Florida. However, 
this system is only feasible where there is a substratum of soil 
which is more or less impervious to water, such as clay, marl or 
hard-pan subsoil. 

When the Everglade drainage is completed it is proposed to 
install locks in the canals and thereby control the water level in 
the soil. This will at all times provide ample moisture and will 
eventually assure very cheap irrigation for this entire area. But 
until this work is completed, which will take some time to accom- 



36 TRUCK FARMING 

plish, smaller areas in this section can be controlled easily by put- 
ting in one of the shallow lift pumps of great capacity such as 
are used to pump out, or flood, rice fields. 

With all crops, especially vegetables, the increase in produc- 
tion is very marked when water is applied scientifically, the 
increase being often doubled; in fact, in seasons of protracted 
drouths little or nothing can be grown unless under water control. 
Not only is this increase in production to be noted, but the quality 
is proportionately improved and such products always bring an 
increased price in the market and are in much greater demand. 
A great number of our tropical plants require considerable mois- 
ture and will not produce properly unless an adequate water supply 
is at hand. 

Care must be taken to provide water that contains no matter 
injurious to plants. This is occasionally found in artesian water, 
some of which contains chemicals that do injury to the foliage, 
but these cases are rare. On the other hand, the small per cent 
of sulphur often found in the water here is no doubt of some 
benefit, especially if used in sub-irrigation, as it has a tendency 
to destroy injurious fungi in the soil. Surface water, such as is 
found in streams or will be found in the canals of the Everglades, 
is admirably adapted for irrigation purposes. 

As in all other matters, success in irrigation depends on close 
attention to details, for as before mentioned, plants requiring their 
food in liquid form are at once stunted, rendered dormant, or 
destroyed entirely, if their water supply is inadequate; in other 
words, they not only die of thirst, but starve for want of food. 
In addition, all bacterial action ceases, thus causing further loss 
and injury to the soil. Hence, the careful trucker will examine 
his soil daily and keep in close touch as to the condition of both 
the surface and the subsoil. In short, he is not only intimate 
with this as well as all branches of nature, but loves the very scent 
of moist newly plowed earth. 

An additional reason why one of the forms of sub-irrigation is 
popular is that the water coming from below does not have the 
tendency to wash out the fertilizer, but in fact has a tendency to 



IN THE EVERGLADES 2>7 

bring these useful ingredients to the roots from below, in this 
way facilitating growth ; whereas if the water falls in imitation of 
rain it has a tendency to leach out the fertilizer, and in case the 
precipitation should be heavy, will often wash out or leach the 
plant foods far below the reach of the roots, thus not only 
depriving the plants of their present ration, but robbing the soil 
of the greater part of its available nitrogen and other ingredi- 
ents. It is a sight never to be forgotten to see a carefully sub- 
irrigated garden, the rich dark green of the foliage showing 
plainly as far as the field can be seen, and such an area appears 
a veritable oasis when it happens to be surrounded by land that 
is not irrigated. 

The fertilizer* for an acre of vegetables (operated on the 
intensive plan as outlined in this book) costs not less than $40; 
the irrigation for this same acre need not cost over $5, but still 
is likely to be of more importance than the first item. Therefore, 
we need not wonder if all fields where these conditions can be 
easily and cheaply supplied will be equipped with some sort of 
irrigating systems in the near future ; in fact, it is a cheap mode 
of crop insurance. 



* See last part of Chapter VI, relative to lotver cost of fertiliser on well 
aerated Everglade land. 



CHAPTER XII. 
STABLE MANURE AND FERTILIZER. 




HE first material used by mankind to promote 
plant growth, no doubt, was ordinary stable 
manure. Although we have found in commer- 
cial fertilizers valuable substitutes, we have 
today nothing better with which tO' promote 
plant growth than a well-rotted, properly pre- 
pared compost. I say properly prepared com- 
post, as I consider the preparation and care 
given a compost heap of such importance, that I am apt 
to have my judgment of a grower biased as to his ability, should 
he fail to properly care for and prepare his compost heap. The 
waste of stable manure is so common, taking place in such a 
silent, hidden manner, that it is liable to escape notice entirely. 
One can almost judge of the size of a trucker's bank account by 
the size and condition of his manure heap, and a well kept com- 
post heap may be taken as the surest indication of thrift and 
success in one's farm operations. 

It is of vital importance to the farmer to know the value of 
all materials in his reach which can be converted into compost. 
Experiments carried on by our scientific people show that the 
excrement of a working horse, if carefully saved, will amount in 
weight to about six tons a year, of which, it must be remembered, 
the liquids are the most valuable part; ample bedding should, 
therefore, be supplied at all times to absorb the hquid. 

To carefully absorb and convert into plant food the greatest 
amount of the ingredients available, depends altogether on how 
well and how carefully the manure has been composted ; to do 
this I have found it advisable to carefully fork over the entire 
mass every three or four days, after removal from the stable. 
If this forking-over process is repeated four or five times — being 



38 



IN THE EVERGLADES 39 

careful to mix thoroughly, break up all lumps and moisten each 
layer, and, better yet, add to each layer a liberal sprinkling of 
either ground castor pomace or cottonseed meal — }'ou will have 
an ideal compost heap. It should not be used until the greatest 
heat has passed away, and a cover of earth or muck in a dry pul- 
verized state should be added at the final or last forking-over. 
Provision must be made to prevent leaching in wet weather or 
great loss will result. 

Well decomposed stable manure seems to have a value not 
accounted for by analysis, in that it introduces a necessary ferment 
congenial to plant growth. Among all manures, that from horses, 
when composted, seems to be the most valuable for starting 
plants on ; especially is this so if the land is new, as, for instance, 
in the Everglade region, or of a swampy nature. The faeces of 
the horse's manure are covered with a yellow or white film which 
seems to contain and introduce germs that start nitrification in 
the soil and decomposition in the manure pile or compost heap. 

It is on this account that when only a small handful of compost 
is used under a newly set plant the seed spores of nitrification are 
simultaneously introduced and for this reason are of much more 
benefit than the mere fertilizing qualities contained. However, it 
must be remembered that in this handful of compost are also 
present, in a very finely prepared form, the ingredients of the 
elements necessary for plant life, which .are absorbed by the 
tender rootlets at once, similar to a baby food. 

Thus the young plant newly set is not only supplied with a 
nourishing food to start with, but also is supplied with a working 
force of useful bacteria to co-operate and work for the plant 
through its entire life by freeing ammonia and other ingredients 
for its consumption. The very moisture in a well prepared com- 
post is a factor upon which little stress is laid ordinarily b}" the 
chemist, but like other secrets, seems to have slipped past his 
magic wand. The humus supplied through stable manure forms 
a body, in which also ingredients acceptable and congenial to all 
plant growth are stored. Humus also holds in store carbonic 



40 TRUCK FARMING 

acid, which decomposes the minerals in the soil, setting free, 
besides other substances, potash and phosphoric acid. 

Moreover, this humus has the power of absorbing about six 
times as much latent nitrogen as is contained in the best stable 
manure, which can all be made available plant food through thor- 
ough tillage, liberal applications of lime or carbonate of potash. 
A great argument in favor of manure is that it forms this humus. 
However, it must not be forgotten that these same results can 
be obtained by turning under green leguminous crops and these 
can be groAvn with fertilizers. 

The chief objection to the use of stable manure is the item of 
expense ; being of so bulky a nature, it costs a great deal to prepare 
and handle. Another objection is that it differs so much in quality, 
one cannot determine with any definiteness the fertilizing elements 
contained therein; this is caused by the difference in the fodder 
with which the animals are fed, the quality and quantity of bed- 
ding used as an absorbent, and the final care with which the com- 
post is prepared. I do not want to discourage the use of compost, 
however, as I deem it indispensable for such uses as starting- 
plants as outlined above, but when once introduced, these germs of 
nitrification will stay in the soil and it would be a useless expense 
to apply this compost except as a plant starter only, using there- 
after the much cheaper commercial fertilizers to complete the 
growing crop. 

As we keep but few horses or other animals in this country, 
I would advise all truckers to save all refuse that will decompose 
quickly, and add to the bedding, or compost heap, and if handy 
cover the same liberally with muck or dry earth. We must learn 
to look upon the compost heap as we would upon a savings 
bank account — a growing interest-bearing investment. As before 
mentioned, the trucking interests are of such magnitude that we 
must use commercial fertilizer, there being not enough manure to 
supply more than a meager share of our needs, especially in South 
Florida, where the trucking business will, without a doubt, con- 
tinue to be a leading industry. A large per cent of the plant food 
in the soils of the North are made available by the severe action 



IN THE EVERGLADES ' 41 

of the frost, and this, no doubt, has a great deal to do also with 
removing and neutralizing the acidity there. As we in the South 
cannot depend upon this process, the defect must be artificially 
overcome by thorough tillage, and by adding lime or wood ashes, 
the latter supplying, in addition to the useful carbonate of lime, 
both phosphate and potash in their most available forms. 

Ordinary soil from an organic standpoint is an accumulation 
of broken rock, decomposed minerals and other disorganized 
organic matter — a dead, inert mass, virtually the waste of Nature's 
workshop. 

However, there exists an organic as well as a chemical life 
which is so complex in its action and reaction, marriage and 
divorce, utterly disregarding all moral laws in seeking its affinities, 
that it presents some of the most complicated problems found in 
physical science. 

Here in the tropical South, where there is practically no inter- 
ference by frost, the changes go on undisturbed, favorably affect- 
ing the fertilizer ingredients or manure supplied. Plant life 
possesses intelligent volition, stands higher, and produces more 
decided results than is brought about by chemical action or 
mineral instinct, thus building up plant structure by dissolving 
and absorbing from the minute soil particles. This is further facil- 
itated by the weak acid which is known to exude from the ends 
of the feeding rootlets of plants, which while bringing about this 
dissolution at the same time absorb in their structure these useful 
and necessary ingredients. 

The chemist tells us that this air around us, which we can 
neither see nor grasp, and of which we take but little account, 
mixed up with a little water makes up about 95 per cent of our 
growing crops. We know something of this, being aware of 
the fact that if we burn a ton of combustible matter, we have in 
the remaining ash a residue that is a mere pittance in comparison 
to its former bulk and weight — the greater amount returns to 
the air, from which it originally sprang; thus showing clearly 
that plant life has simply borrowed and returned these interesting 
substances. Our soil, therefore, acts chiefly as a place in which 



42 TRUCK FARMING 

to anchor and hold plants upright, in other words, a mere 
anchoring ground through whose agency, however, the necessary 
food is prepared, stored and supplied as demanded. Should we 
hand this remaining ash to a chemist for analysis, he would tell 
us that it is made up of silicon, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, 
sodium, aluminum, sulphur, iron, chlorine, and magnesium, these 
being the principal elements that plants take from the soil. 
Chemists have further settled the fact that nearly all of the ele- 
ments that enter the composition of plants are found in all soils, 
leaving but nitrogen, potash and phosphorus to be suppHed in more 
or less quantity, to promote a satisfactory growth, and these will 
be the elements we will be called on chiefly to discuss as commer- 
cial fertilizers. 

Dealers had formerly a great bugbear to contend with, inas- 
much as the agriculturist was slow to adopt these "new-fangled 
artificial fertilizers" — they were not bulky enough to suit, neither 
did they, in his opinion, have the damp beneficial effect contained 
in compost. Another objection was that they were not supposed 
to leave any nourishment in the ground for the following crops. 
This is now conceded to be an argument in their favor, the plant 
food in them being in such digestible condition that the crop can 
get the larger proportion. 

The inexperienced farmer is, however, still apt to think they 
will run out his soil, and one grower when told by a fertilizer 
agent how concentrated his goods were, mentioning he could 
carry in his coat pocket the necessary equivalent of a load of 
compost, was promptly told he could probably carry the resulting 
crop in the other pocket. However, experience has now disproven 
these foolish assertions. In the first place, to make a good crop 
the plants must be fed a well balanced ration and a great risk 
is incurred by applying a fertilizer that is, deficient in any one of 
the three necessary ingredients ; and unless one is fully aware of 
the fact that the element left out in the fertilizer is already abun- 
dantly suppHed in the soil, he is apt to suffer a decided loss. 

A careful analysis of any given soil will frequently fail to 
disclose even a trace of ammonia, potash or phosphate, and as 



IN THE EVERGLADES 43 

our crops are very valuable, it would bt fallacy to run the risk, 
on account of saving a few dollars, of omitting one or more of 
these valuable ingredients. However, in case we are fully aware 
that our soil contains great quantities of any one of these ingredi- 
ents, as for instance we know that ammonia is overabundant in 
Everglade muck land, we can dispense with this most expensive 
part. 

Foremost among the advantages to be enumerated to the credit 
of commercial fertilizers is that, being in a concentrated form, 
they are much more easily handled and applied, and it therefore 
costs much less to produce a crop and the grower can grow a 
much larger acreage ; moreover, since we are aware of their con- 
tents we are enabled to feed just the right proportion of the three 
necessary elements. This knowledge also allows us to figure to a 
nicety just how much a ton of fertilizer is worth in the market, as 
we know the exact value of each of the component parts. It so 
happens that the element that appears to be the most plentiful in 
the average fertilizer is also the most expensive and the hardest 
to keep when we have it. I refer to nitrogen, this element being so 
volatile that it will leave any substance it happens to have become 
a part of much more readily than any of the other ingredients 
enumerated. It will, if in an available form, mix readily with 
water, or if a component part of a combustible bulk, will escape 
into the air at once in case of fire, or even if it should come in 
contact with extreme heat. Thus, a great portion will leach out 
of the soil should it be subjected to a long heavy rain, or will 
escape into the air from a fermenting compost heap, should the 
latter become exceedingly hot. It will, however, unite readily with 
dry earth, hence it is advisable to place a layer of dry pulverized 
muck or earth over fermenting compost heaps for protection. 
Phosphate and potash, on the other hand, will be retained in the 
soil to a much greater degree, and being minerals are not 
combustible. 

We have in this State great mines of phosphate rock which are 
mined and placed on the market after having been ground and 
made available by dissolving with sulphuric acid. This form is 



44 TRUCK FARMING 

largely used by all fertilizer manufacturers as it has the advantage 
of cheapness. A number of experiments have lately been carried 
on vv^ith finely ground raw phosphate called "floats," which while 
not strictly available can be made so by adding lime and potash 
to the soil. They seem to be successful in this, that they do not 
add acidity to the soil, thereby doing away with the sulphuric 
acid which, added to our already sour soil, has a tendency to 
make its ingredients still more unavailable. 

The other chief source of phosphate is from raw and dissolved 
ground animal bone, this being a very desirable source and one 
much used in the more expensive brands of goods, as it has a 
beneficial per cent of lime, and considerable ammonia, and is on 
this account preferred by many. 

All ash has also a per cent of phosphorus, and this being very 
finely divided, is easily taken up by plants, hence is very favorably 
looked upon by the agriculturist. Ashes also contain a per cent 
of potash, besides lime in carbonate form, both of which are essen- 
tial to plant growth ; in fact, this form of potash is preferred by 
many of our best growers to the exclusion of all others. The 
great bulk of potash is, however, imported from Germany, 
where it is mined in immense quantities, near Strassfurt. These 
different forms of potash vary considerably, the high-grade 
sulphate of potash containing about 50 per cent of the pure article 
and is usually preferred on account of its being free from salt 
and other injurious substances. Another grade containing a high 
per cent of potash is the high-grade muriate of potash which 
analyzes similar to the high-grade sulphate, but contains consid- 
erable salt which keeps it more or less damp and is also apt to 
dampen the fertilizer with which it is mixed. On this account 
it is not so desirable, as this dampness has a tendency to work on 
the ammonia in the fertilizer, thus causing some loss, and also 
causing the fertilizer to cake, greatly hindering in its proper 
distribution. 

Low-grade sulphate contains about 25 per cent of potash, but 
must be used with care as it contains considerable chlorine, which 
is injurious to plant life. On the other hand, it is said to also 



IN THE EVERGLADES 45 

have some beneficial results in a medicinal way, preventing certain 
blights and rusts of plants. I think, however, this has not been 
proven very clearly, but am of the opinion that on sandy soil it is 
safe to use it in large quantities without injury. Another low 
grade of potash containing fertilizer imported from the same 
source is called kainit, which seems to have a decided efifect in 
preventing blights and rusts among tomatoes and other plants, 
and I would strongly recommend it for this purpose. To get the 
best results from kainit, it should be applied directly to the land, 
in quantities of about six hundred pounds per acre, after the 
ground has been plowed and harrowed once. It should then be 
harrowed in shallow, allowing the rains to wash it in further ; it 
must, of course, be scattered evenly, all lumps being first broken 
up finely. As kainit has the power of fixing and absorbing- 
ammonia, it is advisable to add some to compost heaps, sprinkling 
it through and over them. Being a powerful digestive agent, it 
is a proper application for swamp lands and should prove of great 
benefit on the Everglade muck lands. For these reasons kainit, 
compost and wood ashes seem, each for a separate reason, to have 
an agricultural value greater than their chemical analysis would 
indicate. 

The wide awake trucker should look upon his fields as his 
factory or workship, and upon himself as the live manager whose 
duty it is to supply at all times the necessary material and 
conditions to keep these useful nitrogen-producing germs as well 
as other chemical actions, at work, and he should always bear 
in mind that they will work just as long as the necessary materials 
and conditions are at hand. If the land is not supplied with humus 
naturally, it should be artificially applied, as before stated, or his 
soil will become sterile and stagnant — a dead, inert mass, which 
cannot be made to produce profi.table crops. 

But no matter how eminent the chemist, or how close he may 
apply himself to his task, it takes the "man with the hoe" to sift 
out the actual facts, and by his crude methods, ask the soil the 
question and virtually coax or wrest the answer therefrom. The 



46 TRUCK FARMING 

chemist's advice, though useful and pointing in the right direction, 
still remains chaotic and theoretical, and it is left for the agricul- 
turist to extract the final definite results from this state of 
confusion. 



SOUTHERN FLORIDA TOMATO FIELD. 




IRISH POTATOES NEAR MIAMI. BANANAS IN BACKGROUND. 




CHAPTER XIII. 

CULTURE OF TOMATOES. 

HE crop of which the largest acreage was grown 
in Dade County originally to the exclusion of 
all other varieties of vegetables, is the tomato. 
Our Dade County tomato has already won for 
itself a place in the market and the tomato 
has become so popular throughout the United 
States that many people now eat them for one 
meal a day throughout the year. Their beautiful 
color tempts the good housewife to use them for decorating and 
this has also considerable to do with increasing the demand. 

We have a large number of varieties at present grown in the 
South ; in fact, we no sooner find a new variety of genuine merit 
than it is superseded by some other variety having still more 
favorable points. It ever becomes necessary to change varieties 
for new ones that are more thrifty, hardy and productive, until 
today we have many that are perfection in shape, quality and 
flavor. Of course, the flavor is also influenced largely by feeding 
the plant with properly balanced applications of fertilizer. 

The tomato is of such easy growth that it can be grown on 
practically all varieties of soil in our State. If given proper 
attention, fertiHty and moisture, it will grow on the poorest, white 
drifting sand, on the stiffest clay, and on the best alluvial soil. 
Our climate seems to be so congenial to this vegetable that the 
quality is seldom impaired on any of the above named soils. The 
vigor with which the plant grows, its grasping nature and general 
immunity from disease, allow it to take advantage of almost any 
kind of soil or fertilizer, and frequently tempt the new beginner 
to plant a great surplus in preference to all other varieties of 
vegetables. It is consequently common in every garden through- 
out the country. 



48 



IN THE EVERGLADES 49 

As an example of its vigor, we frequently find it growing on 
land to which practicall}- no care has been given whatever, often 
having only part of the rubbish and saw-grass removed by digging 
a slight depression with a hoe and putting in a little stable manure 
or fertilizer and planting directly thereafter. 

In case the land is moist, successful crops have been grown 
by this method, simply applying fertilizer to the surface without 
working it in, though in case a severe drouth should follow, very 
little of this fertilizer is assimilated and the crop is correspondingly 
meager. 

The careful grower will plow his land and thoroughly work 
it, striking ofif the rows from four to six feet apart according 
to the variety and the nature and fertility of the soil, apply three 
to four hundred pounds of a fertilizer, such as is commonly used 
for vegetables and containing a high per cent of potash, and 
thoroughlv work this in with a spike-tooth harrow some five or 
seven days previous to planting. 

Seed Bed. 

In selecting a location for a seed bed, it should be done with a 
view of having it close to the field in which the plants are finally 
to be grown : therefore, choose a strip if possible directly along- 
side or in the field to be planted. This should, of course, be 
thoroughl}^ pulverized and enriched, using, a liberal application 
of fertilizer, rich in ammonia. For seed beds about double or 
treble the quantity of fertilizer ordinarily used should be thor- 
oughly incorporated wuth the soil to the depth of -several inches. 
In case the season be cold or backward, or inclined to be rainy, 
an additional heaty application of finely pulverized compost 
should be added. This should be left to soak with the soil for a 
period of six or seven days before the seed is planted. Great 
care must, of course, be taken to see that the proper varieties 
are used and that the seed has strong germinative powers. It is 
best sown with a seed drill, such as has come into use by the 
truck growers in the North for sowing the different varieties of 
vegetable seed. The seed should be sown verv thinlv, with a view 



50 TRUCK FARMING 

of growing not over two plants to the inch of row. The rows 
should be placed from ten to fourteen inches apart, and the 
seed-bed should be amply large enough to grow . approximately 
twice as many plants as the trucker contemplates setting out. 
This surplus, should there be any, can generally be disposed of at 
a remunerative figure to other growers. 

Covering of the seed should be done very lightly, from one- 
eighth to one-fourth inch of soil being applied over the seed. 
These seed beds should be sown fortnightly throughout the 
tomato planting season, so the grower will at all times have a 
surplus of fine plants on hand. Then in case a field should suffer 
by frost, he is in a position to replant at once. This seed-bed at 
all times should be kept thoroughly moist, and particular care 
must be given to this until the sprouts show above the surface of 
the ground. As soon as the seedlings show above the ground, any 
part of the bed that camic up too thick should be thinned out at 
once, otherwise the plants will be leggy, and will not stand trans- 
planting well. In case of extra heavy rains after the plants are 
up, a light cultivation should be given, and a light application 
of nitrate of soda applied at once. I have also found it advisable 
to apply a dusting of sulphur to the surface of the beds before the 
last raking, thus preventing to a great extent the disease known 
as "damping off." 

I consider well grown plants, the most valuable adjunct to 
the tomato crop. They should, if properly grown, be six or seven 
inches tall and the diameter of a lead pencil when five or six 
weeks old, the weather being favorable. 

Great care must be taken in removing them from the bed to 
see that they are not bruised, or allowed to lie exposed to the 
sun or weather; in fact, I find a tender young plant will stand 
exposure to the air and sunshine about as long as a fish can 
ordinarily be kept out of water without succumbing. 

I find it a splendid idea to remove the entire lot of plants which 
you contemplate setting out for one day's work, early in the 
morning while the dew is on them, packing them rather tightly in 
boxes and storing them in a shady place with canvas or burlaps 



IN THE EVERGLADES ' 51 

thrown over them. Should the weather be very warm with consid- 
erable sunshine, it is preferable to plant after three o'clock in the 
afternoon only. If the land be new, I would advise by all means 
to plant with compost in the hill. Well rotted compost should 
first be carted to difterent parts of the field and there thoroughly 
saturated widi water. My method is then to have the help drop 
a fair-sized handful to each hill, and at once press this into the 
furrow with the ball of the foot. I prefer planting about three 
to three and one-half feet apart in the row, the rows being five 
or six feet apart. 

This compost can be dropped during the entire forenoon and 
the planting accomplished in the afternoon or evening. It is best 
done by lifting with the four fingers of one hand the compost 
out of the furrow, putting the rootlets of the plant thereunder 
and at once pressing the soil back to the original position with the 
foot, thereby squeezing the liquids contained in the compost 
around, through and under the rootlets. I have frequently 
planted as many as 20,000 plants in one day by this method and 
the loss was less than one-fourth of one per cent. 

I lay particular stress upon .the necessity of using great care 
in procuring an even stand, for with this even stand and with 
strong plants, other conditions being right, we practically have 
our crop half made. Great losses are annually incurred by 
planting spindling, tender or overgrow^n old' plants, and I feel that 
I cannot emphasize too strongly the importance of being careful 
to have all the above conditions right. 

In the introduction of new varieties, we owe considerable to 
the Livingston Seed Company, of Columbus, Ohio, for having 
produced a number of varieties of great merit and I will venture 
that more than one-half of our successful tomato growers have 
grown varieties the seed of which was produced by these progres- 
sive people. Among their latest and most promising introductions 
are the Globe varieties ; these have everything that is desirable as 
far as quality, carrying capacity, size and shape are concerned. 

I would advise all growers in experimenting with new varieties 



52 TRUCK FARMING 

to go slow, plant only a package or two and thoroughly exploit 
their merits before planting them for a general crop. 

In making applications of fertilizer great stress must, at all 
times, be laid upon the advisability of supplying the plants with 
an abundance of potash, and I find this has a great tendency to 
prevent blossoms shedding during the growing season. To such 
an extent have I found this to be the case, that I now use as 
much as eight to ten per cent of potash in the first application and 
continue with this high grade throughout the season. The best 
growers here frequentl}^ use as much as a ton and a half of high- 
grade commercial fertilizer, and I think it pays at all times to 
supply our plants with a superabundance of nutriment. Applica- 
tions of fertilizer should be made every ten days throughout the 
growing season, being careful not to apply the fertilizer close to 
the base of the plants ; a rule being to stay away from the stem 
of the plant a distance corresponding to the length or height of 
the plant itself, applying each successive application in a circle to 
the outside of the one previously made. It is not necessary to 
incorporate the fertilizer to any great depth with the soil — it 
should be worked in rather shallow near the surface — but great 
stress must be laid upon w^orking it in, thoroughly incorporating 
it with every particle of the soil. 

Do Not Pick Tomatoes Until Well Matured. 

Too much importance can hardly be attached to this. Don't 
pick a single fruit until it is thoroughly filled out. Some little 
experience is required by the novice to tell exactly when the 
fruit is properly filled out and should be marketed. It is, there- 
fore, advisable to pick a few tomatoes and lay them aside in a 
shady place to see just how soon they will turn color or ripen. 
They should, if well filled and picked at the proper time, show 
color in about five days after picking and should turn red, 
ready for the table, in about eight days from the time they are 
taken from the vine. Of course, the time of the year that the 
crop is growing has considerable to do with the above, hence 
they must be left on the vine until they show color early in the 



IN THE EVERGLADES 53 

season or in midwinter, and must be picked correspondingly earlier 
as the warm season advances. A tomato that does not color 
when ten daA's off the vine, is not fit for food. 

Great care must be exercised that they are not chilled in 
transit, and in the early part of the year they should lie protected 
from cold weather. A tomato once chilled will never perfectly 
ripen up, and for this reason it is advisable in midwinter to ship 
all tomatoes by the water route if possible; the damp warmth 
of a steamer seems to be congenial to their proper coloring and 
ripening. Later in the season, when hot weather advances to the 
North, it is preferable to ship them by rail. 

In crating and packing tomatoes, the novice is apt to include 
in what he considers his best pack, everything that the good 
housewife would ordinarily save for the table. This is a great 
mistake. Our buyers have grown very particular and tomatoes 
must be very carefully sized. All packages of the ordinary six- 
basket-carrier type containing 144 tomatoes, or twenty- four to the 
basket, are classed as fancy. They must be perfectly free of 
blemish, such as spots, scratches, cracks, corrugations and worm 
holes. They must be just absolutely perfect. 

In case the tomatoes are picked by careless help and any have 
been taken from the vines that are not full and plump, they must 
be culled from this pack regardless of size. Of course, tomatoes 
that are overgrown, say of such a size that they will not pack 
uniformly in the baskets, or so large that they would pack only 
72 to the crate, must be plainly marked as such. It is preferable 
to mark the exact number of tomatoes upon the outside of each 
and every crate packed. 

The second size of tomatoes, commonly called i8o's as indi- 
cated by the number, are a variety which are ranked as seconds or 
choice. They are in growing demand throughout the North, 
even by the epicures, being of fine size for slicing. Inferior 
varieties, such as culls, had best be left out of the market 
altogether, as they have a decided tendency to lower the market 
and prejudice the buyer. 



54 TRUCK FARMING 

I have found on certain occasions when the growth is extra 
heavy, that it is advisable to prune out or cut back the vines, 
and have frequently found a corresponding increase in the number 
of crates of tomatoes produced per acre, to such an extent, in 
fact, that two-thirds or more is added to the crop. In other cases, 
however, when the growth is not too rank, it does not pay to 
prune, and as we are generally burdened with a great amount 
of work at this time, I think it is advisable to plant additional 
areas, rather than to resort to the laborious task of pruning. 

Beautiful smooth fruit can be grown, and it seems rather more 
uniform and free from insects, by driving stakes and tying the 
vines thereto. This, however, doubles the expense and therefore 
is not practiced to any extent in this section. 

It is necessary at all times to give thorough applications of 
Dry Bordeaux Mixture with Paris Green to the seed-bed, dusting 
it over in liberal quantit'ies every three or four mornings during 
the entire period of growth. 

Great stress must be laid upon the advisability of making 
thorough applications of fungicide and insecticide throughout the 
early stage of the growth. Do not wait until you see the ravages 
that insects make upon your crop, but apply the remedy before 
thev have begun to bloom and keep at it until a few days before 
you pick your last crop. 

In case worms, leaf-eating or fruit-eating insects appear, apply 
the bran remedy. (See chapter on Insecticides, etc.) 




CHAPTER XIV. 

CULTURE OF POTATOES. 

N selecting- a piece of land on which potatoes 
are to be grown, care must be taken to have 
li£ ^■PIT^Kl ^^^^^^ ^^'^ ^^ ^^^^ drain very quickly after a 
■uitai ^1 ijjj^li heavy rain, potatoes being very susceptible in 
this respect. I have frequently known crops 
to be entirely ruined by being inundated for 
only a few hours. This is especially true when 
the seed is first put in the ground. 
Probably the best land for this purpose is dark, heavy alluvial 
soil that contains a great amount of humus, with a subsoil porous, 
but not leachy. An ideal potato soil is also found in the glade 
clay, or what is locally known as marl, provided it is of a kind 
that is covered with a heavy growth of grass and contains consid- 
erable humus. The class of marl near the Coast that is known 
as "front marl," which is affected b}^ salt-water tides, is undesir- 
able ; the salt though making a nice smooth potato, at the same 
time renders it unfit for food by making the potato soggy, so much 
so that you could not sell it to the same customer twice. 

For this same reason, heavy applications of muriate of potash 
or kainit are to be avoided on potato land. 

The land should be deeply plowed — using a turn plow for this 
purpose — thoroughly disked and worked up into the finest possible 
seed-bed. For this crop, it is best to plow the land just in advance 
of planting time, as potatoes thrive better in a very porous, loose, 
newly-thrown-up soil. Remove all obstacles such as trash, weeds 
or debris of any kind. Furrows should be struck out about 
eight inches in depth and not less than twelve inches in width. 
It will be unnecessary to say that these must be straight, for we 
hope the contemplative truck grower will have sufficient pride 
to always see that all his rows are laid out as straight as possible, 



55 



56 TRUCK FARMING 

thereby avoiding an eyesore to himself and to any possible visitors 
in the future, besides being of easier culture. After these furrows 
have been laid out to an even depth throughout their entire length, 
a heavy application of fertilizer should be applied. This should be 
composed of blood and bone, sulphate of potash and nitrate of 
soda, ground tobacco, castor pomace, etc. Ammoniates should 
be of an organic form chiefly, having them analyze for this country, 
rather high in ammonia,* say about 6 per cent; phosphate 6 per 
cent or J per cent, and potash 9 per cent or 10 per cent. , As 
potatoes are a very short-lived crop I deem it generally advisable 
to use all of the fertilizer at this first application, also for the 
added advantage of enabling the grower to work it into the soil 
in a more thorough manner than would be possible if later applica-, 
tions were made. After this is thoroughly mixed in with a 
tooth or scratch harrow (it should be incorporated in the soil to a 
depth of two or three inches) and we find that we have closed our 
furrow by these repeated workings in the soil until we have nearly 
filled the original depression to the level of the surface of the 
surrounding soil, a narrow blade should then be inserted in the 
center of the original furrow, being careful in this instance, also 
to keep a straight uniform line, and strive to hold up the tool in 
such a manner as not to penetrate further than about one-half of 
the depth of the original furrow. The potatoes are then planted 
according to variety from eight to fourteen inches apart in the 
row. 

Another method, which, though new, gives great promise, is to 
plow two furrows, or rather scoop two furrows, about a foot 
apart, add the fertilizer at about the rate of one ton or over per 
acre at the first application, thoroughly mixing it as before stated, 
afterwards plowing out this middle wdiich was left originally 
between the two lines and planting the seed in this small furrow. 
By this method, one can plant immediately after the preparation 
of the land and avoid any danger of the fertilizer burning the 
seed, as the potato does not come in contact with the same. This 
has the further advantage of leaving a furrow with a slight depres- 
sion at each side of the plant where a later application can be 
applied when desired. 



See last part of Chapter VI. 



IN THE EVERGLADES 57 

Our best growers are proceeding with the method last named, 
some planting the potatoes very thickly in this row, say four to 
six inches apart generally, dropping single eyes. This is rather 
an intensive method, but seems to have great promise, as crops 
of 125 barrels or over per acre have been made by this process. 
Where large areas are planted a potato planter should pay well. 

The varieties most uniformly grown in this part of the State 
and which have proven most successful, are the Bliss Triumph 
and Rose No. 4. We wish to lay great stress upon the proper 
selection of the seed. We have made numerous tests with seed 
grown in various parts of the country from Maine to Minnesota 
and as far south as those grown directly in our own locality, but 
have found to date nothing that has the vigor of those grown 
in Maine. 

Great care must also be taken to see that the varieties 
procured for seed purposes are free from any of the potato 
diseases, such as blight, rust, scab, etc. For my own planting, 
I prefer to have a potato of good large size, and I advocate cutting 
these to single eyes. Next in choice, I would have a small potato, 
say the size of a hen's egg, and this planted whole. . This mode 
of planting the whole seed is particularly advisable should the soil 
be inclined to be overly moist, as they will not rot so readily 
if uncut. 

Should potatoes show any sign of rust or scab, it would be 
advisable to immerse them in a solution of corrosive sublimate or 
formaldehyde. In my own practice, I rather prefer the former, 
using two ounces of corrosive sublimate to fifteen gallons of 
water, immersing the potatoes therein for about ninety minutes 
before cutting, sprinkling them liberally with flow^ers of sulphur 
before planting. After several sacks have been immersed in this 
solution, it will be necessary to add water of the same consistency 
from time to time to strengthen the solution. This process seems 
to have the additional advantage of protecting them from rot and 
injurious worms, and also has a tendency to protect them from 
fungacious attacks. For these reasons, I deem it advisable, even 



S8 TRUCK FARMING 

though potatoes are not scabby or rusty, to strew them liberally 
with sulphur. 

Cultivation should begin as soon as the sprouts show above 
the surface of the soil. If the soil is inclined to be overly moist, 
cultivation should be rather deep, but in case the soil should be 
very dry, it is preferable to cultivate only very shallow. As soon 
as the rows can be plainly seen, a side dressing of fertilizer can 
be applied if such an appHcation is desired. 

Much has been written about the advisability of hilling Irish 
potatoes, and I have found for various reasons, among which are 
ease of cultivation and digging, that a slight hill of earth towards 
the vines when they are about six inches or more in height 
is a great advantage as it covers many growing weeds and makes 
digging easier. 

Should there be any indications of rust or blight or should 
the land have been used for potatoes or tomatoes in previous 
years, it is advisable to apply Bordeaux Mixture liberally through- 
out all stages of growth, to protect them against this destructive 
fungus. 

Throughout the northern part of the State, it has been cus- 
tomary to market potatoes in barrels. We, however, deem it 
advisable — since we grow such a superior article in this part of 
the country that it usually brings a very much higher price — to 
pack our potatoes in crates or hampers. I think by this method 
our growers realize at least 30 per cent more for their crop. It 
is a good idea to establish a precedent of this kind as we can 
then, by branding our goods, establish a market for our own 
particular country brand. They should be very carefully sorted 
and graded, all those that are larger than one-and-one-half inches 
in diameter being graded as firsts. 

Of course, if there should be any potatoes grown that are 
overly large, rough or corrugated, they must also be sorted out 
and sold separately. Absolutely nothing but perfect, smooth, 
bright uniform potatoes should go into the first grade. 

Those that are one-and-one-half inches down to one inch in 
diameter can be put in as seconds. There is also a limited demand 



IN THE EVERGLADES 59 

for those that are an inch or less in diameter, known as cream 
potatoes ; these, of course, must be packed separately. The 
demand for potatoes, even to the present day, in our section of the 
country, has been so strong that it has been impossible to fill 
orders of local buyers. Returns per crate, taking into considera- 
tion the comparatively small outlay particularly for labor, have 
been very flattering, and our Dade County potato has already an 
enviable place in the select markets of the North. 

We have grown potatoes frequently in this country that were 
not only the finest in appearance, but also in quality, of any that I 
have ever seen grown in the various States of the North, in which 
I have also had considerable experience heretofore. 

I remember on one occasion of having on exhibition, at our 
annual county fair, Dade County potatoes of the variety known 
as Early Ohio, which were so bright and waxy in appearance 
that I was frequently asked if the}^ were not artificial, made of 
wax in imitation of candied fruits, etc. 

It is, of course, preferable at all times to dig potatoes during 
the dry weather, and I wish to emphasize the advisability of 
picking them up from the soil without exposing them to the rays 
of the sun or the elements of the weather for more than a few 
hours at a time, high winds and hot sunny weather being particu- 
larly injurious to their appearance and quality. 




CHAPTER XV. 
CULTURE OE PEPPERS. 

HIS is one of the staple articles grown largely 
in midwinter in this section of the State. Not 
only is it a staple, but one of the very best 
paying vegetables grown here. I have often 
marveled where the great amount of pep- 
pers was consumed. It seems that in spite 
of the increasing acreage grown annually 
here, the demand is still fair ahead of 
the supply. We Americans are not slow in picking out the best 
dishes of our foreign brothers and adapting ourselves and tastes 
to them. A number of years ago, the pepper industry seemed to 
be largely controlled by a very few growers in this section, but 
now it has spread and we are enabled to ship them in car-load lots. 
As advised in regard to other varieties of vegetables, great 
care must be taken in the selection of the seed and proper 
varieties. The Ruby King is probably that which is most widely 
known here. Of late years cjuite a few of the variety known as 
the Chinese Giant have also been grown. The tendency seems 
to be towards growing thick-fleshed heavy varieties that will 
remain in a green condition for the longest possible time and 
stand shipping much better than the thin-skinned and tender 
yarieties. 

Seed-beds for this vegetable should be planted as early as 
August I St. They must be planted on a rich, moist, well prepared 
bed and sown thinly in rows similar to those already described for 
tomatoes. They will be ready to plant out in the open field in 
about six or eight weeks from the time of sowing, if properly 
cared for. They are then planted directly in the field and are 
generally set about twelve to eighteen inches apart in the row, 
the rows being about three feet apart. If they have not been 



60 



IN THE EVERGLADES 6i 

grown too thickly in the seed hed, each plant can be raised with 
a quantity of earth, as they have a strong tendency to collect a 
solid bunch of earth if they are carefully removed. Particular 
stress should be laid upon the importance of this, and for this 
reason the bed should be well watered not only the evening 
previous to their removal from the same, but also copious applica- 
tions of Avater should be given in the morning before taking 
them up. If they are well firmed in moist soil very few plants 
will be lost in transplanting. However, if the soil should be at 
all drv or the weather unusually warm, they must be well watered 
upon being transplanted. Great care must be taken not to plant 
them too deep, and Avhile they can be planted slightly deeper 
than they stood in the seed bed originally, they must be planted 
shallower at all times than the tomato. 

The land upon which they are to be set out should receive, 
about a w^eek or ten days previous to the planting, an application 
of 500 or 600 pounds of vegetable fertilizer and this should be 
thoroughly worked in the rows. Planting, however, can be done 
immediately after a rain, being, of course, careful to again render 
thoroughly fine and loosen the soil directly before setting out. 
Applications of fertilizer should be given about two- weeks apart 
throughout the growing season, which in this country would be 
from September i until May 15 following. In fact, I have sold 
peppers profitably as late as June 20, depending largely upon the 
seasons in the North. 

It is customary to give a liberal application of fertilizer, say 
500 or 600 pounds, after each picking, and this should be kept 
up regardless of prices, which are likely to fluctuate considerably 
throughout the season. I have frequently seen them sell as low 
as $1.00 per one-half barrel up to as high as $6.00 for the same 
crate, inside of thirty days. It is, therefore, advisable to keep up 
steady appHcations of fertilizers, as they will stop bearing at once 
should this process cease. The w'ise grower will therefore apply 
fertilizer regularly, whereas his more ignorant competitor will 
oftbi cease putting on fertilizer should the price become very low, 
and the man who is up to his business will gain by having a heavy 



62 TRUCK FARMING 

crop when the price advances. It is advisable to use for this crop 
an application containing 6 per cent of ammonia,* 6 per cent of 
phosphoric acid and 8 per cent of potash. Without the latter 
they will not have good shipping stability. 

Peppers are subject to attack by various fungous diseases, fore- 
most among which ranks the disease known as black rot. Early 
applications of Bordeaux Mixture will thoroughly annihilate these 
diseases, or rather prevent them entirely, and it is a wise precaution 
not only to keep the foliage covered Avith Bordeaux Mixture 
throughout the growing season, but also to apply it in dry form 
upon the seed-beds. Should this be neglected, often great loss is 
incurred. This disease not only attacks the plant, but the fruit 
also, at times proving very disastrous to the crop, not only in the 
field, but in transit. All deformed or red fruit should be picked 
and removed from the field as soon as it appears. 

Seed should always be procured from those that make a 
specialty of this branch of business. In fact, I have found it to 
be very profitable to stake some of the best plants, and save their 
entire output for seed. 

Picking should begin as soon as the fruits are plump and hard. 
Many are tempted, as formerly recited in regard to tomatoes — 
sometimes on account of the high prices — to pick the fruit before 
it is well developed. This prematurely picked fruit will simply 
wither and rot and have a disastrous effect upon the market. The 
grower should always bear in mind that it is much more profitable 
to keep a high standard of excellence in all his products and 
try as far as possible to influence his neighbors to do likewise. 

Peppers should be very carefully assorted and packed in six- 
basket-carriers, preferably for the fancy article. However, when 
the prices become low, it is often more profitable to ship in egg- 
plant or one-half-barrel carriers, the freight being the same in 
both cases. You can by this method bring much larger quantities 
into the market at the same freight or express rates. Culls must 
be sorted out and shipped to nearby markets and then only if the 
price should warrant such shipments. It is preferable to leave 



See last part of Chapter VI. 



IN THE EVERGLADES 63 

these out of the market altogether as they have a tendency to 
deplete prices. 

The peppers can be picked once every ten days or two weeks, 
if the weather conditions are favorable. There is no vegetable 
grown that responds better to thorough irrigation — sub-irrigation 
in this case, as in most others, being preferable. The depression 
around the stem ends of the peppers, having a tendency to accu- 
mulate considerable water, the overhead system of irrigation often 
proves detrimental and cannot be recommended. Care should be 
taken not to pick the peppers when the dew is upon them, for 
this same reason. 

Much depends upon the proper packing. A crate that is well 
packed with uniform, w^ell matured peppers (being careful to 
exclude all those that have a tendency to show defects) will often 
bring as much as 50 per cent more on the market. The number 
of crates realized per acre of this vegetable is simply enormous, 
under the most favorable conditions 1,200 crates being nothing 
uncommon. 

It is conceded by our best growers, that a net price of 75 cents 
per crate is very profitable on the average. They are one of the 
crops that can be very profitably grow^n on pine land and are 
often planted between the citrus tree rows. 

On account of the heavy applications of nitrogenous fertihzer,* 
they should only be planted among very young citrus trees on 
muck or hammock soil as those heavy applications of ammonia 
would prove detrimental to older trees upon the last named soils, 
which are already overabundantly supplied with ammonia. 

Great care must be taken to see that the land is properly 
drained of all surface water in cropping peppers, as a small 
amount of standing or stagnant water will destroy the entire 
crop. 



* See last part of Chapter VI. 



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PEPPERS — A GREAT MONEY CROP. 




FIELD OF EGGPLANTS. 




CHAPTER XVI. 
EGG PLANTS. 

ROBABLY the most profitable crop and that 
upon which the greatest number of dollars has 
been realized per acre, is the egg plant. The 
prices realized at times when this fruit is scarce 
are almost beyond belief, instances having been 
known where they have been sold as high as 
$20.00 per crate. It is at times one of the 
hardest vegetables to grow and few growers 
are uniformly successful in its production. I have often had a 
field, in which I considered the conditions ideal for growing this 
vegetable, and in which I had taken the greatest possible pains 
in producing plants, entirely destroyed by some of the diseases 
(of which we really know very little) attacking it. Sometimes 
the entire crop w^as destroyed at once, and occasionally by degrees, 
first one plant wilting and then another until finally the entire 
patch was destroyed, producing very little or no fruit at all, and ^ 
such as was produced being of an inferior size and quality. 

Egg plant is probably grown with greatest success upon fields 
either entirety new or that have been preceded by one of the 
leguminous crops the previous summer, such as cowpeas, velvet 
beans or beggar-weed. I consider that the ideal conditions exist 
where a heavy crop of velvet beans has been grown the previous 
summer. The seed-bed should be prepared in early August, being 
careful to give the plants plenty of room in their early develop- 
ment; in fact, a spindly or leggy plant had better not be planted 
at all. The great value of the crop makes it such that great care 
should be taken to produce only from the very best selected seed 
and under the most propitious conditions. It is essential for this 
reason to place the seed-bed upon similar new soil so that there 
is no possibility of infection of diseases such as root knot (nema- 



66 TRUCK FARMING 

todes), blight or rust. It is a wise precaution to keep these seed- 
beds thoroughly dusted with Bordeaux Mixture throughout their 
entire early growth, a semi-weekly application being desirable. 
When eight weeks old, we should have a plant with a stem 
diameter nearly the size of a lead pencil. These should be carefully 
lifted, after first seeing that the bed is thoroughly watered both 
the evening previous and the morning preceding their removal. 
A small trowel is very useful for this purpose and it is essential 
to remove them with a chunk of earth several inches in diameter. 
As previously explained for peppers, they should not be planted 
deep and should invariably be put in soil upon which there is 
no possibility of an accumulation of stagnant water at any time 
during their future growth. 

A heavy application, probably 600 to 800 pounds per acre, of 
vegetable fertilizer, analyzing 6 per cent ammonia,* 7 per cent 
phosphoric acid and 8 per cent potash, should be thoroughly 
incorporated in the furrow or with the soil a Aveek or ten days 
previous to setting plants in the field. It should be applied to the 
drill about a foot in width, the rows themselves being put about 
five feet apart. The plants should be set in the row a distance of 
three feet apart. Heavy applications of fertilizer should be applied 
every fortnight, and thoroughly incorporated to the depth of 
kne and one-half inches in the soil, in a circle around the 
plvut. They being very susceptible to the ravages of the red 
spider and varieties of the green aphis, regular applications of 
whale oil soap or ver}' finely ground tobacco dust should be 
applied to the seed bed ; the latter when the dew is on. Light 
sprinklings of tobacco dust should also be applied to the older 
plants as often as once a week, various kinds of worms being apt 
to attack the tender young leaves during the early stages of their 
growth. 

The varieties most popular here are known as The Florida 
High Bush, The New York Purple and Black Pekin. The fruit 
should in all cases be cut from the plant, using for this purpose . 
one of the clippers commonly used for cutting grape fruit. The 
stem should at once be cut close to the fruit so as to avoid any 



See last part of Chapter VI. 



IN THE EVERGLADES 67 

possibility of their bruising by contact. They should, of course, be 
picked when they are dry or have no dew upon the vines, great 
care being exercised to remove any sand that might stick to the 
fruit on account of heavy rains, as the slightest scratch upon the 
surface of their tender purple skins is apt to show when they 
arrive in market. 

Great care must also be taken to see that the fertilizer at all 
times contains the requisite amount of potash or they will lack 
keeping quality. They are packed in assorted sizes ; the sizes 
most preferable are known among commission men as 36's or 
38's. The packages should be branded with the exact number 
contained in them, and those shipped as fancy should be free of 
all blemishes, spots or uneven surfaces. They should be picked 
before the seed in them become hard. Great care should be. 
exercised at all times to have applications of fertilizer given at 
regular intervals so as to insure uniform steady growth throughotit 
the entire season. 

The demand, in the North has been such that shipping can 
begin by October 15 and be continued at remunerative prices 
throughout the season until the middle of the following June. 
Great quantities of egg plants are consumed throughout the 
United States, shipments being made as far west as Denver and 
as far north as Canada, the southern limit beginning directly at our 
own door. 

The larger and more uniform varieties generally bring the 
highest prices in our more Northern markets. New Orleans con- 
suming a great many of the packages containing the small sizes. 
As many as 1,200 crates per acre are frequently produced of this 
vegetable. 

No vegetable grown in this section responds to the advantage 
of irrigation better than the egg plant. It thrives well by both 
the overhead and sub-irrigation systems. If the ground is thor- 
oughly drained and properly sweetened by applications of fer- 
tilizer, by tillage and aeration, egg plants will thrive best with 
copious amounts of water. Our largest crops are made late in 
the Spring, when our torrential rains of the tropics begin falling, 



68 TRUCK FARMING 

thus proving that there is Httle danger of our overdoing irriga- 
tion, provided ample drainage and other conditions are right. In 
drv seasons, they can be watered almost every other day. I pre- 
fer a heavy application weekly, giving light dustings of sulphur 
or tobacco directly after each application, particularly if the water 
is applied by the overhead system. 




EVERGLADE BEANS. 




BEAN PICKERS. 




CHAPTER XVII. 

CULTURE OF BEANS. 

X OTHER very profitable crop for our market 
is the ordinary wax or green snap bean. Great 
areas are yearly planted to this valuable vegeta- 
ble, it being one of the quickest and easiest 
crops to produce. However, when we have the 
crop grown, we are only half through, the pick- 
ing being considered by those who have experi- 
enced it often the larger half of the work. Be 
this as it may, it is a very remunerative crop, bean growers being 
among those who frequently realize the largest profits per acre. 

A rather light, well drained soil is considered best for this 
product. The land should first be deeply plowed, preferably in the 
early fall, allowing it to settle thoroughly, by having at least a 
part of the late tropical rains fall upon the land. Frequent 
shallow workings should be given with a disk or harrow, say 
every ten days. Plantings are made for our Northern markets as 
early as October i. 

The popular kinds known and called for in the Northern mar- 
kets are the Refuge, or "i,ooo to i," and the Valentine varieties. 
Of wax varieties, the Davis Kidney or Hodson Wax are fore- 
most, the latter variety being particularly adaptable to this coun- 
; try and climate, producing a bean which will not only carry well, 
but which is of a very superior quality. 

Furrows are spaced at about 30 or 36 inches apart, green vari- 
eties usually being planted somewhat nearer together than, the 
wax. Fertilizer is applied at the rate of about 1,000 pounds per 
acre directly to these furrows, it being well worked in some ten 
davs or two weeks in advance of planting time. 



70 



IN THE EVERGLADES 71 

The fertilizers used are usually of a highly nitrogenous* char- 
acter, cottonseed meal being a very popular content for this pur- 
pose. My own experience has led me to believe that a bone-meal 
basis has more lasting qualities, and for this reason I have used 
this fertilizer as a basis. To prevent rust, I usually add about 
200 pounds of kainit to this formula. Cottonseed meal and kainit 
are used exclusively by some of the best growers. This is an old 
formula, and is to be recommended. 

After this fertilizer has become thoroughly incorporated with 
the soil and is left to decompose for this length of time, the fur- 
rows may be opened up if it is advisable to plant the seed by hand. 
About one and one-half bushels of seed of the green variety and 
about three pecks of the wax variety are used to an acre. If the 
seed drill is used, it must be set to plant rather thickly for the 
green variety. I have usually been obliged to use my seed drill 
twice through each row to get in the required amount of seed. 
If you have a good strong strain of seed, they should show above 
the ground the third day after planting, provided they have not 
been planted too deep, which is considered rather injurious to 
this crop, some of the vitality being lost in this way. About one 
inch below the surface, soil and moisture being right, is what is 
usually required. In very wet seasons, however, they must be 
planted shallower. 

Cultivation is given at once as soon as they show their seed- 
leaves above the ground. This is preferably done with a hand 
cultivator near the row, breaking out the middles with a spike or 
spring-tooth cultivator. As soon as they show their character 
leaves, they should again be thoroughly worked, giving them what 
additional fertilizer they require at this second working. Throw 
the soil lightly toward the vines after this application. Should 
the ground be inclined to be wet, three cultivations may become 
necessary, which last should be done very shallow, otherwise 
injury to the roots will ensue. 



See last paH of Chapter VI. 



72 TRUCK FARMING 

If the crop be an early one, there is some danger of the bean 
weevil attacking- the vines. This can be prevented by early appli- 
cations of finely ground tobacco dust, the kind that is sold for 
insecticides being used. To prevent both mildew and ravages of 
insects, I would strongly recommend an application of sulphur, 
lime and tobacco, equal parts. Should frequent heavy rains have 
a tendency to wash off these insecticides, a second application of 
solution of arsenic of lead should be given, being careful not to 
get this mixture too strong, as bean leaves are very easily burnt 
by poisonous substances. One good, thorough application gener- 
ally suffices to destroy these bean-leaf eaters, or at least to thin 
them out so that very little damage will be experienced from them 
afterward. 

About ten days from the time the first blooms appear, if the 
crop has been properly taken care of and other conditions are 
right, they will be ready for the first picking. Great care must 
be taken not to handle the vines when the dew is on them or when 
wet after a rain. They must be handled very carefully, and 
such pickers as are apt to lay the vines over or wallow them 
around in a miscellaneous way should be watched very closely. 
Such treatment of the vines is liable to curtail the crop by 50 per 
cent. Great care must also be taken not to pick any undersized 
beans, or your next picking will be very light, as you will find. 
They will be ready for the second picking in about two or three 
days. Our best growers usually pick every second or third day, 
and are thereb}'- enabled to fill their packages with well matured, 
tender beans at all times. Such beans will probably bring 30 per 
cent more in the market than the carelessly picked article, and 
often two or three times as much as those that are left to grow old 
or are given indifferent attention. 

Picking is best done by paying so much per crate or pound — 
usually one cent per pound in this country. The product should 
be protected by burlap from the direct rays of the sun. Each 
picker should be required to deliver his beans directly to the pack- 
ing house from the nearby field. They are then carefully packed 
in bean hampers, any defective, mutilated or overgrown beans 



IN THE EVERGLADES 77, 

being excluded from the pack. About 29 or 30 pounds are usually 
packed in the ordinary bean hamper. Should the packer be inex- 
perienced, it is best to weigh out the quantity of beans and pack 
a few hampers so as to familiarize himself with the required 
amount to put in each crate. The upper layer should be nicely 
topped off so as to have a pleasing appearance to the eve. This 
will go a long way toward selling the bean in its future market. 
Probably the greatest quantity of our beans are sold f. o. b. in our 
local markets, numerous buyers being here annually, interesting 
themselves in this valuable product. They usually sell here 
through the season for $2 to $3 per crate, f. o. b., and are con- 
sidered a very profitable crop at this figure. 

The amount grown per acre varies with the variety, selection 
of soil and other conditions, 200 crates per acre being consid- 
ered a good average crop by those who are conversant with the 
industry. 

The vines are a very important adjunct to the value of the 
general crop, and if carefully pulled at the last picking are worth 
at least $20 per acre as feed for horses or cattle. If carefully 
cured, the leaves are worth at least as much as wheat bran for 
animal food. They are best gathered by pulHng up the vines and 
shaking the soil therefrom and putting them in small piles, gen- 
erally putting four rows in a windrow. Then after they have 
cured on one side for a few days, they should be turned early in 
the morning, when there is still a slight dew upon them ; the other 
side being exposed to the sun's rays, they will dry very quickly. 
They should at once be put under cover, about a peck of salt being 
added to each ton of fodder thus stored, and thoroughly sprinkled 
between the layers as they are laid away. If grown for the early 
market, it is often very profitable to follow them with a crop of 
cucumbers. 

Beans are also frequently used as an auxiliary crop between 
Irish potatoes. In this case, the rows should be planted about 
three and one-half feet apart. After they have had their second 
application of fertilizer, or after they show their character leaves, 
potatoes are planted between the rows. The beans will then be 



74 TRUCK FARMING 

ready for picking before the potatoes need their second applica- 
tion of fertilizer. After the beans are picked, a very heavy appli- 
cation of fertilizer is added to the potatoes at once, in turn plant- 
ing another crop of beans between these rows, which will need no 
other fertilizer. By carefulh' digging the potatoes, you will in this 
manner give sufficient cultivation to the last crop of beans. I 
have frequently realized as high as $2,000 per acre from this 
accumulation of three crops. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 
CULTURE OF CELERY. 




MONO all crops of vegetables grown, celery is 
perhaps the one from which the largest income 
can be derived. 

There are several plans advocated by which 
it is grown successfully, each in itself radically 
difterent from other methods, and each claiming 
equal success. The most intensive cultivation 
of celery is carried on at Sanford, Florida, 
where the system of tile sub-irrigation is largely practiced. The 
following extract from an address by Hon. J. N. Whitner will 
give you a better idea of the Sanford method : 

"Civilized man, with rapidly increasing millions to feed, with 
intensive farming, which makes it necessary to obtain the most 
and best from his ground, has turned to irrigation. We are amazed 
at what has been and is being done by private as well as govern- 
ment enterprise. And as this great national convention and exhi- 
bition is assembled to tell and show what great things have been 
and can be done, the far South, even Florida, sends you greeting, 
and bids me claim fellowship and a part in your labors. We have 
brought some of our products to show you, and I am sent to tell 
you of our system of irrigation and some of its results. We know 
it as the Sanford system of sub-irrigation and drainage. 

"Let me describe the system, its operation and theory ; then, 
with your permission, tell you something of Avhat it has done for 
us. Its possibilities seem limitless. Without an illustration or 
drawing, a description is difficult to understand or remember. I 
have, therefore, brought a sufficient number of illustrations, a 
glance at which will give a full understanding. These are for free 
distribution at the Florida booth, or will be mailed upon request. 
Briefly stated, the water is applied through 3-inch tile, laid in par- 



/::■ 



76 TRUCK FARMING 

allel ditches eighteen inches deep, with a fall of not less than one 
inch to the hundred feet. The distance between the rows of tile 
varies according to quality of soil ; in our sandy loam twenty-five 
feet affords effective drainage, as well as irrigation. The more 
clay and the stiffer the soil, the nearer they should be placed. At 
the upper end of the tile, beginning at the water supply (with us 
flowing or artesian wells), and running by the end of each row of 
tile, is a water main, the cheapest being small sewer pipe cemented 
at the joints. Between the tile and this water main a joint of 
6-inch sewer pipe is used as a stand pipe, connected by a short 
iron pipe on one side with the main, while on the other is the con- 
nection with the tile. It will readily be seen that water turned into 
the water main, and running by each of the stand pipes, can be 
turned into as few or as many as desired, in this way irrigating all 
or any portion of the field. Of course the tile is in short joints, 
with us one foot in length, and the water finds ingress or egress 
at the joints, porous tile being largely a myth. At the lower side 
of the field the tile discharges into a waste ditch, and when the 
ground is level and the flow of water not too rapid, it will be 
found that capillary attraction supplies all the moisture needed, 
even for setting plants, but most fields are equipped with stop 
boxes at the lower end of tiie, and when ground is much broken, 
these boxes are placed at intervals, as required, and the illustra- 
tion shows how the water is dammed up to any level required, even 
to flooding the ground. 

"This much for irrigation. It is quite as effective for drainage, 
being laid on an incline, and water applied by gravity. In case of 
rain the excess is taken off very quickly, and on our soil if it rains 
three inches today we can plow tomorrow. This we find is of 
inestimable value, for with the soil saturated with water, as the 
small boy would say, there is nothing doing, or as one of you 
Western farmers put it, 'You can't get no action out of the 
ground.' The reason of this inertia, as you all know, is that the 
water excludes the air from the ground. Now, with surface irri- 
gation, and without this sub-drainage, you have to wait for the 
water to evaporate, which slowly drying from the surface, inch by 



IN THE EVERGLADES yy 

inch, lets in a little air from above, while the plants await the life- 
giving air. With our system, as soon as the water stops running 
the tile becomes a conveyor of air, which is supplied (so to speak) 
from both top and bottom. Our system not only does these things, 
but furnishes warmth from below, and as warm air rises from the 
tile it has a marked influence on the growing crop, especially in 
winter, wdien our most profitable crops are grown, for with us 
September or October is seed time, and February and March the 
harvest. You can understand that it matters little to us whether it 
rains or not, for during the winter of 1906 it rained frequently and 
in torrents, while the next year we had not a single rain from 
September 15 to April 5, yet raised equally as good and profitable 
crops. So rain is not necessary to plant, grow or perfect a crop." 

There are usually about two tons of vegetable fertilizer or 
more applied to the acre, one ton of which is applied and worked 
into the soil directly before any planting is done whatever, and 
some ten days in advance of the planting. Fertilizer analyzing a 
high percentage of ammonia,* usually 6 per cent, with 5 per cent 
phosphoric acid and 5 per cent potash, is used. Some of the best 
growers are lately applying as high as three tons to the acre, with 
encouraging results. 

The variety of celery mostly used is Golden Self -Blanching, the 
seed of which usually is imported from France, but is sometimes 
procured from the best growers in the United States. 

The row^s are planted thirty inches apart and the plants placed 
at a distance of three and one-half to six inches apart in the row. 
The seed should be sown in a well prepared and fertilized bed, 
which is made eight or ten feet in width and as long as wanted. 
It is sown rather thickW, the plants being picked out and trans- 
planted when about two inches in height. They are ready for 
the field when about the size of a finger. Seed-beds are made 
September i, and plants are planted out at once upon reaching 
the required size, into the open field. 

In planting the seed, it is customary to rake in or to cover very 
lightly, great care being taken at all times to keep the surface well 
saturated with water. Occasionally fertilizer sacks are spread 



* 8ee last part of Chapter VI. 



78 TRUCK FARMING 

over the entire bed, after sowing the seed, and left there until 
the seed has sprouted (generally two weeks), which depends on 
the humidity of the atmosphere at the time and the germinating 
condition of the seed itself. This cover is removed during the 
night and replaced in the daytime. As soon as the first plants 
show their seed leaves above the ground, copious waterings are 
given until transplanting time. 

Lettuce is often planted between the rows of celery and a 
remunerative crop is often grown as an auxiliary in this way. 

From 900 to 1,200 crates are grown per acre by the best grow- 
ers. Six hundred pounds of "Blood and Bone" fertiHzer are 
worked in by some of the best growers every ten days after plant- 
ing. The fertilizer used is largely compost or "Blood and 
Bone" with sulphate of potash and a little acid phosphate added 
occasionally. 

For blanching, boards ten inches in width are used, they being 
placed against the sides of the celery rows when they are about 
ten inches high. A space of about four to six inches is left between 
the boards for the celery to grow up and blanch in, this according 
to the size and diameter of the plants themselves. It is figured by 
the best growers that the cost of production per crate will average, 
including the crates themselves, about 40 to 50 cents per crate, and 
$1 is considered a very remunerative price to sell at, though often 
twice this sum is realized for the product. Celery crates are 
8x20x27 inches, outside measurement, and cost about 12 cents each 
at retail. It requires eighteen men to cut, pack and load a car of 
celery in a single day; from 350 to 400 crates are packed in 
a car. 

The celery crop can be followed by a cauHflower or bean 
crop, which will often bring in $400 to $600 additional. 

Cucumbers are also frequently planted before or after the 
celery, of the Early Fortune variety, from which a profit of $300 
or $400 frequently can be realized. 

Celery is grown continuously on lands at Sanford year after 
year. During the summer, very heavy crops of crab-grass spring 
up on this land, and from two to three cuttings are frequently 



IN THE EVERGLADES 79 

made. The best growers in that vicinity apply ten to twenty cords 
of stable manure to the acre once in every three years for the 
purpose of supplying additional humus, which is considered nec- 
essary and essential to this crop. 

I have grown crops in this vicinity on rather a limited scale, 
never planting over one-half acre in any one year, as I catered 
only to the hotel trade and to local consumption. Very fine celery 
has been made here, the article produced being as crisp and tender 
as that produced elsewhere. I have reaHzed as much as $1,000 to 
$1,500 from one-fourth of an acre in this part of the country. 
Without a doubt, the muck beds situated in the E^^erglades, when 
properly sweetened and drained and placed under irrigation, will 
produce abundant celery for the entire United States during the 
Winter and Spring months. 




MODEL CELERY AND LETTUCE FIELD, SANFORD. 




EVERGLADE CUCUMBERS. 




CHAPTER XIX. 
CULTURE OF CUCUMBERS. 

WELL drained, deep alluvial soil, containing a 
little sand, is best adapted for the growth of 
cucumbers. It should be deeply plowed not 
less than thirty days before planting, if pos- 
sible, so as to give it a chance to settle thor- 
oughly. Rows should then be struck off six or 
eight feet apart, fertilizer dropped and well 
worked in hills three feet apart in the row. 
Should the weather be cold or rainy, it is best to add a rich com- 
post with which considerable cottonseed meal has first been mixed 
and allowed to decompose only partly, so as to have some heat 
left in it. This should be dropped in the hill, at least a double 
handful to each check. It should be worked in with about its 
bulk of soil and pressed down firmly slightly below the level of 
the surrounding soil ; about one inch of damp earth should then 
be spread on top and also pressed down and the seeds planted 
therein. 

Should the germination of the seed be in question, it is best 
to plant quite a rrumber — say ten or fifteen — to the hill. On the 
other hand, if the seed is known to be good, four or five to the hill 
will be sufficient. A little sulphur sprinkled on the hill directly 
after planting the seed will prevent them from "damping off" in 
wet weather. Immediately after the seed leaves have developed, 
they should be thinned to two or three in the hill. Tobacco dust 
of the kind used for insects should be liberally strewn around and 
under the plants, dusting a little on the under side of the leaves, 
to keep the fly that produces the green aphis from depositing its 
eggs. This is very essential, as once the green aphis gets a 
foothold in your cucumber field, you will never be able to entirely 
eradicate it. A good handful of rich vegetable fertilizer should 



82 TRUCK FARMING 

be applied in a circle around the hill about once every week or 
ten da3^s. At the same time apply a tobacco dusting in the same 
intervals. As the cucumber leaves begin to show, more tobacco 
dust should be added, particularly to the under sides of the leaves, 
on mornings when a light dew has fallen. In about six weeks 
they will begin to bloom. At this time great care must be taken 
to protect them against the locally known cucumber worm, and 
for this purpose I find nothing better than a solution of arsenate 
of lead, applied as per directions upon the package. They should 
be dusted once a week following each application with a liberal 
but not too heavy sprinkling of tobacco dust. 

I want to say in this connection that great care must be taken 
to procure only such tobacco dust as is made and put up as an 
insecticide, there being another distinct quality in the market that 
is used as a fertilizer, to which considerable potash has been 
added, which will burn up any melon or vine leaf with which it 
comes in contact. Should there be any spot or blight, an applica- 
tion of Bordeaux Mixture should be made at once, to prevent the 
further ravages of this disease. 

Cucumbers are advantageously planted directly after we have 
had a frost in this country ; at such times there is very little dan- 
ger from insects. The insects in this section seem very tender 
and can stand scarcely any frost whatever; therefore when the 
cold comes it exterminates or thins them out to such an extent 
that they do not bother the plants for some five or six weeks 
thereafter, thus giving us a chance to mature a crop of cucum- 
bers without the expense of sprays and insecticides and their 
application, and before the insects can do much damage. They 
often are planted after an early crop of beans, and this compact 
soil is just right to grow them in. 

The Arlington, White Spine, Livingston and Evergreen varie- 
ties are largely grown. A new variety grown at Sanford, by the 
name of Early Fortune, has met with great favor. This is an 
extremely early variety, retaining its green color for a great 
length of time, and reaches the market in fine shape. Those 



IN THE EVERGLADES 63 

varieties which have a tendency to grow pale green or yellow 
when half matured should be avoided. 

Cucumbers should be picked when about two-thirds grown, 
and at this stage of growth should run about six dozen to the 
ordinary cucumber crate. They should be very carefully assorted, 
putting absolutely no defective or wormy cucumbers in a package 
that is marked as first class. They should be cut from the vine, 
not pulled, and must be wiped free of dust and spines before 
being packed. They must be evenly laid and tightly pressed into 
the crate so as to avoid the possibility of their becoming loose or 
shaking upon delivery, as it must always be taken into considera- 
tion that they will shrink in transit. 

The local markets often pay as high as $1 per dozen for 
cucumbers in the middle of the winter, our great hotel system 
here demanding many of these high-priced vegetables in mid- 
winter. The buyers usually pay from $1 to $4 per crate, f. o. b. 
Miami, and at this price a handsome revenue per acre is obtained. 

I have frequently realized as high as $8 per crate gross in the 
open market of the North. When cucumbers are well grown, 
they are one of the most remunerative crops we have. 



CHAPTER XX. 
CULTURE OF CAULIFLOWER AND CABBAGE. 




REAT care must be taken in the selection of the 
seed of cauhflower. J\Iany unscrupulous deal- 
ers place an inferior article upon the market, 
and, by selling it at a lower price, induce the 
grower to invest therein. He will invariably 
find that he has encountered great loss before 
the season is over. Above all things, cauli- 
tiower seed must be well selected. Seed which 
is grown in France or Germany is preferable. The varieties 
known as the Early Erfert or Snoiv Ball are considered the best. 
The seed is sown rather thinly, about one-half the amount 
being used over a given area that would ordinarily be sown to 
cabbage seed. It should be covered lightly and kept well mois- 
tened. On account of there being considerable danger of the 
young plants "damping ofif," it is preferable to sow light applica- 
tions of flowers of sulphur over the field at the time of planting 
the seed. The seed-bed for these plants should be prepared simi- 
larly to that for cabbage. If the weather is inclined to be cold at 
the time of sowing the seed, it is best to apply a light application 
of compost, working it in shallow. The same directions that apply 
to cabbage, as to setting out and cultivation, apply to cauliflower, 
taking even greater care to nurse the plants throughout the 
season and to protect them from any vermin. The little worm men- 
tioned in connection with cabbage is very destructive also in the 
heads of cauliflower. Should the heart of the cauhflower be muti- 
lated in the least, the result will be that the entire head will be 
defective. For this reason, great care must be exercised. 

To grow cauliflower successfully, the plants should be thor- 
oughly irrigated when about half grown. Then, if the condition 
of the soil is otherw^ise favorable, it will invariably make a fine 



84 



IN THE EVERGLADES 85 

crop. There is a great demand throughout the Northern markets 
during the winter season for this vegetable. Great quantities are 
consumed, at a very remunerative price to the grower. It usually 
sells, from the holidays until supplied by the home markets in the 
North, at very high prices, frequently as much as 25 cents per 
pound being obtained at retail for the same. If the selection of 
seed and all the other details herein mentioned have been carefully 
adhered to, as many perfect heads should be grown per acre as 
can be done with ordinary cabbage. Returns should exceed twice 
the price that is ordinarily obtained for cabbage. When the heads 
begin to set, and are about three or four inches in diameter, the 
leaves should be gathered loosely and tied with twine, being care- 
ful not to tie them too tight, and also being careful that there are 
no insects in the head at this time, as they will otherwise mutilate 
it and make it unmarketable. In about five or ten days from the 
time they are tied up they will be ready for market. They should 
be cut just before the head begins to spread or before it begins to 
part from the solid form. Should the weather be extremely warm 
at this time, it is best to lay a cabbage or cauliflower leaf in and 
over the white portion of each flower or head to keep it from 
being browned by the hot rays of the sun. 

They are cut preferably late in the evening", but should not 
be cut or shipped when moist from dew or rain. Each head 
should have the leaves tied tightly over the same before shipping, 
to protect it from bruises and keep it fresh during transit to 
market. 

They are packed in ordinary lettuce crates, the number in the 
crate being marked upon the address side of the crate. 

They usually bring from $1 to $3 per crate in the Northern 
markets, frequently selling for twice this figure in our local 
markets during the season of their greatest demand, which, in 
this territory, is during the first three months of the year. 

Cabbage. 

Cabbage is, in my opinion, the most easily grown vegetable in 
this section of the State. I have known numerous instances 



86 TRUCK FARMING 

where cabbage seed dropped by the field-side made fine, large, 
beautiful heads, without a bit of cultivation or fertilizer. This, of 
course, was only when it happened to drop upon alluvial soil such 
as abounds in the Everglades. In the selection of seed and grow- 
ing of cabbage in this country, care should be taken to try to raise 
only such varieties as do not produce too large a head ; otherwise 
they become undesirable. The mammoth varieties of the North 
average here such a size as can only be consumed in the larger 
boarding-houses or hotels, one head making a meal for several 
dozens of people. 

Any of the flat-head varieties, Brunszvick or Old Stone Mason, 
or Henderson's Succession, do splendidly here, producing a head 
from five to ten pounds in weight, which is amply large for ordi- 
nary market purposes or consumption. Seed can be sown any 
time after August ist. It can be sown in drills in the usual 
manner, in a well prepared and fertilized seed-bed, covering it 
slightly and keeping it well moistened and in a thrifty condition 
until the character leaves are well developed. It should have an 
application occasionally of tobacco dust while in the seed-bed, say 
once or twice a week after the seed leaves appear above the 
ground, to keep off the flea-beetles and worms, which at times are 
very destructive. There is a small green or yellow worm which 
seems to go right down into the heart, devouring it in a short 
time if some precaution is not taken to drive it out. 

As soon as the character leaves have sufficiently developed 
so as to be, say, an inch in diameter at their widest part, they 
should be set in an open field, being placed about 14 to 18 inches 
apart in the row, the rows being about three feet apart. The 
ground should be enriched previously well with one of our best 
vegetable manures containing about 6 per cent ammonia,* 6 per 
cent phosphate and 7 or 8 per cent potash. As soon as the plants 
stand up well and show a tendency to grow, they should be 
worked, care being taken not to work too close to the plant with 
the cultivators. A side application of fertilizer of the same analy- 
sis should be applied every ten days throughout their growth, 
400 or 500 pounds per acre being sufficient for each application 



See last part of Chapter VI. 



IN THE EVERGLADES 87 

per acre. Large quantities of cabbage are used here in our local 
hotels and boarding-houses throughout the season. Cabbage gen- 
erally sells at very remunerative prices — from three to as high as 
six cents per pound. Certain seasons, in which the cabbage crop 
of the North fails, they are marketable in the Northern markets, 
and at such times the price here is high. Should the partly 
matured plants be attacked at any time by the green worm, an 
application of tobacco dust or pyrethrum can be applied to anni- 
hilate them. No poison should be applied, as there will be danger 
of its injuring the consumer. Should there be any cut-worms in 
the field, the bran remedy should be applied. (See chapter on 
Insects.) 




CABBAGE GEOWING IN THE EVERGLADES. 




EVERGLADE FIELD OF LETTUCE AND BEANS. 



i 


1 



CHAPTER XXI. 

CULTURE OF LETTUCE. 

ETTUCE can frequently be grown as an auxil- 
iary crop between other vegetables — for in- 
stance, between cabbage or between rows of 
celery or other slow-growing vegetables. 

To properly raise a seed-bed of lettuce 
plants in the semi-tropics usually requires con- 
siderable care, as we have a variety of ants 
which seem to have an appetite for lettuce seed 
above everything else. I have never been able to bait them with 
anything that would divert their attention when lettuce seed was 
in the vicinity. I have been obliged occasionally to go to great 
extremes to grow or protect the seed from ravages of these 
injurious insects. Therefore, when growing lettuce plants, I have 
found that it paid to make first a fiat table similar to a bench in 
a hot-house, and stand each leg of the table in a receptacle con- 
taining oil or water. I have grown plants successfully in this 
manner when it would have been otherwise impossible to grow 
them. By using a seed drill and covering every individual seed 
with soil, I often have managed to get the seed up before any 
great number were carried off by these insects. They seem to 
be unable to find or scent them if great care is taken in fining the 
soil and pressing the seed firmly into it. Of course, great care 
must be taken not to cover the seed too deep, as lettuce seed will 
not grow if covered as much as one-fourth of an inch deep ; par- 
ticularly is this true if the season is inclined to be rainy. 

I have not found a variety to eciual the Big Boston for gen- 
eral marketing purposes, as it will produce enormous heads which 
invariably carry well, and the flavor cannot be surpassed. The 
rows should be about i8 inches apart. The soil, of course, should 



89 



90 TRUCK FARMING 

be enriched well, using not less than two tons of fertiHzer* for this 
purpose, one ton of which can be directly broadcasted over the 
acre and the other added at later applications. The plants should 
be placed about six or seven inches apart in the row. Thorough 
cultivation must be given at all times and fertilizer applied weekly 
as a side application. 

Lettuce should not be marketed until the head becomes com- 
pact and solid. It is customary to pack two, three and four dozen 
to the lettuce hamper. Care should be taken, in cutting, to see 
that the heads are thoroughly dried; they should not be cut in 
the middle of a warm day, as when the heads become hot they 
are liable to decay in transit. I have found it best to cut them in 
the afternoon after the sun is low, packing and shipping them 
at once. 

There is more or less uncertainty connected with the growing 
of lettuce. It frequently sells as low as $i per crate in the North- 
ern market, and occasionally brings as much as $6 and $8 per 
crate there. A great quantity, however, can be grown and sold 
in our local markets, our hotels using many hundreds of dozen 
per day on the East Coast of Florida alone. I have found that 
it pays very well to grow lettuce at 50 cents per dozen F. O. B. 
Frequently I have received as high as $1.25 per dozen, especially 
when the crop was destroyed in the more northern lettuce sections 
of our state by frost or inclement weather. 



* See last part of Chapter VI. 




CHAPTER XXII. 

CULTURE OF WATERMELONS AND MUSKMELONS. 

HIS is the only climate within the borders of 
the United States in which watermelons actu- 
ally can be grown the year around. There is 
no month in the year that I have not seen them 
produced. Although they can be planted and 
grown at any time of the year, as is the case 
with all other plants and vegetables, there is 
always a certain or better time in the year 
when they can be planted to much greater advantage than ordi- 
narily. My experience leads me to believe that January is proba- 
bly the best month in which to plant them for our large crop. 

The varieties that do best here are those of which the seed is 
grown in the South, the Florida Favorite being one of the best. 
A number of recent introductions are meeting with great favor, 
and seem particularly adapted to our climate, among them being 
the Georgia Rattlesnake and the Watson. 

They should be planted ten feet apart each way, slightly 
deeper than cucumbers. Use the same compost or fertilizer, but 
put in twice the quantity per hill as prescribed for cucumbers. 
Thin them out and dust with tobacco. As they have no enemy 
besides the aphis, it will not be necessary to use any poisonous 
substance for insecticides. 

They should be well fertilized, being careful not to "disturb 
the vines ; however, for this reason, it is best to do most of the 
fertilizing in the early stages of their growth. There is no doubt 
in my mind but what, in the future, we shall be able to grow great 
quantities here for the Northern markets, and it would not sur- 
prise me in the least to find great quantities of Everglade water- 
melons on the Christmas markets of the North. Thev are also 



91 



92 TRUCK FARMING 

planted here at later dates, in the discarded or cropped vegetable 
fields, where a remunerative crop is often made as an auxiliary 
crop, as a sort of side issue. The plan pays very well, since the 
ground is already fertilized from these previous vegetable crops, 
and, being free from weeds, very little expense is incurred. They 
pay as high as $300 per acre, and, if grown early, can be made to 
pay much more. This latter plan, however, has never been 
attempted on a large scale. Being a new country, it naturally 
takes time for our people to develop and branch out in these 
specialties. 

Miiskmelons. 

Muskmelons are grown very similarly to cucumbers ; in fact, 
identically the same care should be given them throughout. New 
varieties from the Bahamas, Cuba and California have recently 
been tried, and seem to adapt themselves much better to our cli- 
mate than the Northern varieties, which often refuse to fruit in 
this country. 

What has been said in regard to the possibilities for growing 
watermelons will apply to muskmelons as well, and a great 
money-making future awaits him who exploits this branch of 
business advantageously. 




^^Ci^^^^ 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

CULTURE OF ONIONS. 

NIONS are best grown in an old and well cul- 
tivated soil. The soil should be plowed deep, 
Avell fertilized and allowed to settle thoroughly 
before planting time. Take care to select a 
piece of land that is not infested with weed 
seeds. Onions have no bad enemies except 
cut-worms, and are generally very easily 
grown. The variety which thrives best in this 
country is the Bermuda, which is largely grown in similar cli- 
mates, and has reached such a state of perfection in both quality 
and flavor that it is grown to the exclusion of all others for early 
shipment to the Northern states. 

For growing in the open field, about three or four pounds 
per acre of seed is sown. These should be thinned when about 
three or four inches high and thoroughly cultivated at all times. 
Cultivation should be shallow, as the roots of an onion do not 
penetrate to any great depth in the soil. The ground on which 
they are planted must, of course, be well enriched, and this should 
be done some time previous to prevent any possible effect from 
the caustic action in the fertilizer. 

Growing onions from sets has frequently been practiced with 
admirable results. The seed for sets is sown very thickly rather 
late in the spring and must be allowed to grow somewhat larger 
than the sets that are usually grown in the North, say three- 
fourths of an inch in diameter. These sets can be planted in 
the early Fall, say October, in the open field, which has been 
specially prepared in the same manner as for seed. Should any 
of these start to seed they can be bunched and shipped green for 
shallots in our local markets, they being in great demand through- 



93 



94 I TRUCK FARMING 

out the winter season at our hotels. If good care is given them 
throughout their growth, applying about 400 pounds of nitrate* 
of soda per acre, just as they begin to bottom, they will, other 
conditions being right, make a very remunerative crop, as high 
as 800 bushels per acre having been grown in this vicinity by 
those who are conversant with the industry. 



See last part of Chapter VI. 




MR. WALDIN S EXHIBIT AT THE DADE COUNTY FAIR. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 




CULTURE OF OKRA. 

REAT quantities of okra are annually grown 
throughout the United States, particularly in 
the South. The demand is constantly increas- 
ing and each year much larger quantities are 
consumed, so that it has become a staple article 
throughout our markets. 

There are a number of varieties of recent 
introduction upon the market, the long green 
and different varieties of the white having their individual merits. 
It can be planted practically every month in the year in this 
territory, but for the XTorthern markets it should be sown about 
August I. Sow in shallow drills, placing the rows about three 
and one-half feet apart for the dwarf varieties and five feet for the 
giant varieties. 

Thorough fertilization* should be given, using one of the 
vegetable fertilizers throughout its growth. Shallow cultivation 
should be given at all times. Should it be infested with the 
green aphis, applications of whale oil soap, tobacco dust or to- 
bacco juice, should be applied in time. It is not susceptible to 
any other disease, except at times, cotton rust. A light appHca- 
tion of kainit apphed as for the tomatoes, will help to eradicate 
this latter disease. 

It should be picked when the size of a rather small cigar, 
packed in six-basket carriers and marketed at once. Those that 
are deformed or overgrown should be excluded from the pack 
entirely. 

A very good price can be obtained for this product. It some 
times brings as high as $8.00 or $10.00 per crate during the 
winter months, in the Northern markets. 



* See last part of Chapter VI. 



96 



IN THE EVERGLADES 97 

One great advantage in growing- this vegetable is that it can 
be grown, as before stated, throughout the entire year, and for 
the average price obtained will probably exceed $2.00 per crate. 




CHAPTER XXV. 

CULTURE OF SQUASH AND PUMPKINS. 

UITE a number of white squash known as the 
Cimmerling or Pattipan variety are grown 
and marketed from this part of the country. 
They are in great favor and yield a remuner- 
ative crop. Directions given for growing 
cucumbers should be followed throughout for 
the growing of squash. However, they should 
be dusted at least twice a week with tobacco 
dust to keep off the squash bug or worm, whereas, once a week 
is sufficient for cucumbers. 

Pumpkins will grow with very little care. They seem to 
adapt themselves to this climate as well or better than any vege- 
table we grow. 

They can virtually be planted and left to take care of them- 
selves. This is particularly true of the variety known as Indian 
Pumpkin. I have planted seeds of these, which took root at in- 
tervals along the vines and gradually grew and spread out over 
as much as one-half an acre of ground, bearing continuously 
year in and year out. This particular variety known locally as 
Indian, is a very rich pumpkin; in fact, it is a cross between a 
squash and a pumpkin. The seed cavity is very small, the rind 
hard, and they will keep in this warm climate several months 
after being removed from the vine. They make delicious pies 
and are very fine baked and unsurpassed in flavor. 



98 




CHAPTER XXVI. 

CULTURE OF SWEET POTATOES. 

\VEET potatoes are the most popular vegetable 
produced in the South, being very extensively- 
grown and consumed locally. There are very 
few truckers or growers who do not plant an- 
nually more or less of this vegetable. 

A number of different varieties are pro- 
duced. Some prefer the yellow kind, some the 
red, and some the white. The yellow variety, 
however, is the one most in favor in our markets. They have 
adapted themselves to the different conditions of climate and the 
soil everywhere. Large crops often follow upon fields where 
former vegetable crops for the Northern markets have been 
grown the previous season, land upon which egg plants, peppers, 
tomatoes, snap beans, cucumbers, etc., have been grown the year 
previous being particularly well adapted to the growth of sweet 
potatoes. This soil being highly fertilized and free from weeds, 
it is only necessary to remove the vines of the preceding crop, 
plow it into ridges and after the ridges have firmed sufficiently, 
stick out the potato vines about eighteen inches apart in the 
row, the rows to be spaced three to four feet apart. The ridges 
are thrown up from one foot to eighteen inches high. In case 
the land is new, it is best to mow off the weeds, raking them 
into small rows, ridging the earth over the same and as this 
accumulation becomes rotted, it offers plenty of nutriment to the 
sweet potato and has a tendency to keep the ground loose under 
the hill, greatly facilitating the crop. Some of the best growers 
use about 400 to 500 pounds of cotton seed meal in the ridge and 
add a side application of the same amount after the vines are 
half grown. This does very well and I would strongly recom- 



99 



loo TRUCK FARMING 

mend in all cases to at least apply this side application.* It keeps 
the vines much healthier and stronger and produces finer, 
smoother and a much greater quantity of potatoes per acre. 

There is no doubt in my mind whatever but what in the near 
future great quantities of this vegetable will be grown for ship- ■ 
ping to the Northern markets in midwinter from this territory. 
At the present day, other vegetables are so largely in demand 
and their production is followed by such remunerative results, 
that we have not gotten down to growing these crops which would 
probably not bring us so much per acre. However, as the sweet 
potato crop in this vicinity can easily be made to produce 400 or 
500 bushels per acre, and as they are usually sold locally for 75 
cents per bushel (in fact, they often bring $1.50 per bushel), they 
pay very well indeed. 

They are seldom attacked by insects. I have known of one 
case, however, in which a field was almost annihilated by an in- 
vasion of the army worm. An application of arsenate of lead, 
however, in this case destroyed these insects entirely. The vines 
are not usually pulled up or loosened as is done in the Northern 
country ; they are simply allowed to grow until they have matured 
their potatoes to such a size as the market may demand. Great 
care should be taken in this country not to let the potatoes grow 
too large, otherwise they are apt to become old and tough and are 
frequently bored and bitten into by different kinds of worms. 
The cut worm and wire worm are very disastrous in this respect. 

They can and, without a doubt, will be grown in later years 
as a cattle food and possibly to manufacture alcohol, for if they 
be left to grow for a few months after they have matured to 
marketable size, enormous quantities can be produced per acre. 
Instances are known where they have been grown to weigh as 
much as fifty pounds or more to the single potato. These, of 
course, are unfit for food, being more or -less woody and tough 
and lacking flavor, but as a poultry food they are very fine indeed. 

In selecting vines to plant it is a wise precaution to take them 
from a thrift}- bearing field, for if taken from an old worn out 
patch the}' have often run out to such an extent as to be almost 
worthless. 



See last part of Chapter VI. 




FIELD OK bCiLASU, .-.UUTIIEKX .FLORIDA. 




LAKELAND STRAWBERRIES — A MODEL FIELD. 




CHAPTER XXVII. 

I 

CULTURE OF STRAWBERRIES. '" 

NE of the most fascinating as well as remuner- 
ative occupations one can possibly engage in 
on our richly drained soils of the Everglades 
is the culture of strawberries. Here they can 
be grown with great ease at such a time of 
the year that they will enter the markets with- 
out a single competitor in the fresh fruit linej 
When one stops to think how many millions 
of mouths are fed in the United States and that we have here in 
the South a monopoly of this fruit offered us at a time of the 
3-ear when absolutely no other kinds of fresh fruits are to be had, 
the prospect is indeed attractive. There is no doubt but what 
the great bulk of this luscious fruit can be marketed throughout 
the North and at very remunerative prices. At present the supply 
has fallen far short of the demand. It seems that of all fruits 
grown the strawberry is most universally in demand. 

If the market at any time becomes glutted, a drop of a few 
cents per quart in the price will put the fruit in the hands of 
thousands who could not afford to invest at the former high price. 
In selecting a piece of land for strawberries, extra care should 
be taken. It should not only be Avell drained but of such a natur^ 
as to dry out readily after a heavy rain. It should be extra well 
enriched* in advance of planting, for after the plants are set out 
there is danger of burning them by heavy side dressings of com- 
mercial fertilizer. 

As to varieties, most any of the popular kinds from the North 
do well here, the Brandyzviiie heing one of the best. The Ol(i 
Lady Thompson was in great favor, but has been superseded of 
late years by the best of the new introductions. ! 



See last part of Chapter T'l. 



102 



IN THE EVERGLADES 103 

I have known of no large acreages being planted here, but it 
has been demonstrated that they can be grown to the extent of 
from 5,000 to 10,000 quarts to the acre. As they will sell readily 
for $0.35 per quart wholesale during January and early February, 
it does not take much figuring to see that they are interesting 
in a financial way. 

Plants can be set out during most any month in the entire year. 
A good way to start in the business is to buy plants in the early 
Spring from the North, set them out in well fertilized soil, and 
take good care of them until they begin to run, which they will 
do a month or six weeks after being set out, provided the plants 
are good and strong to start with. If great care is taken to prop- 
erly place layers on moist soil, a great number of plants can be 
grown. In fact, plants enough to plant several acres have been 
grown from a single thousand. Before the rainy season closes, 
say in September, these young runner plants can be transplanted 
to the permanent field. They should be set about eight inches 
apart in the row and the rows planted eighteen inches apart. An- 
other way is to set the plants about ten inches apart and place 
two rows together, a foot apart, leaving alternate spaces eighteen 
inches. This is a somewhat more intensive plan, but admits of 
mulching two rows at one time and helps to protect them from 
drifting rains which are apt to throw sand upon the fruit. As 
before stated, the ground should be thoroughly enriched some 
weeks before planting. The foliage and roots are very susceptible 
to strong fertilizer, especially those containing considerable potash. 
As quickly as they have taken root they should be worked ver}^ 
slightly on the surface. All weeds should be cut down and hght 
applications of fertilizer* added semi-weekly. As soon as they 
begin to bloom, which will be about December ist, a mulching of 
rotten grass or hay should be applied around and under the 
plants. Should the land be inclined to be dry, a thorough system 
of irrigation must be supplied as they are very susceptible to 
drouths ; in fact, a crop will almost be annihilated should there 
be a lack of proper moisture. 



See last part of Cliapter VT. 



I04 TRUCK FARMING 

The fruit is picked for shipment as soon as it shows color. It 
should be very carefully assorted, any small, inferior or bruised 
fruit, or such as has been damaged by insects, not being allowed 
to go into the baskets. The baskets should be nicely top dressed, 
laying the fruit uniformly and placing the stem ends all in one 
direction. 

For the home market they may be allowed to ripen up over the 
entire surface. They are usually marketed in the ordinary quart 
baskets and for shipment are placed in refrigerator boxes or cars. 

In case grasshoppers or crickets, cut worms or any other in- 
sects should bother the plants, light sprinklings of paris green 
and bran, as prescribed for tomatoes, should be applied. 




CHAPTER XXVIII. 

CULTURE OF BANANAS. 

PIERE is no doubt whatever in my mind but 
what in the near future great quantities of 
bananas \vill be grown in this extreme southern 
end of Florida. The rich black muck lands of 
the Everglades afford a particularly inviting 
field for this industry, and it is a practical cer- 
tainty that they will be grown here successfully 
in the next few years and with much profit. 
I have found that the dxcarf z'arictics are best adapted for this 
climate. The reason for this is that they are not only more pro- 
ductive but have much stouter stems and resist storms much 
better. I have found all of the dwarf varieties equally good, 
there being very little difference in their quality. They should 
be grown on rich, alluvial soil, well drained at all times, and 
should be planted at a distance of ten feet apart each way. I 
do not think we have a plant in this region that responds as 
readily to cultivation as the banana. It seems that after each 
and every thorough cultivation, a new growth is made. Great 
care must be taken at all times to properly thin the hills, keeping 
them down to three or four stalks, endeavoring to have one 
bunch of fruit in development only and cutting out all suckers 
except two or three. Should you at any time neglect this, you 
will find your banana field becoming an impassable thicket, in con- 
sec|uence of which inferior bunches are produced, and eventually 
the entire field will go back and become unproductive and an 
undesirable eyesore. 

Planting at this distance apart, about 400 hills can be pro- 
duced per acre, allowing a little space for roads through the 
field which are necessary for the removal of the bulky crop. They 
should not be picked in this country until the first few ripe fruits 



105 



io6 TRUCK FARMING 

show. These are greatly superior to the half-grown green picked 
article usually imported from other tropical countries. If well 
grown, they will readily sell for two or three cents per pound 
in the wholesale markets. If well taken care of, as far as cul- 
tivation is concerned, with three or four applications each year 
of fertilizer,* say 800 pounds per application, they should produce 
not less than 1,200 bunches per acre, weighing from forty to 
sixty pounds or more per bunch. 

The quantity of bananas consumed throughout the United 
States is something enormous, being the only fruit that is fresh 
on the market the year around. I have found upon inquiry that 
an average of twenty-seven carloads of bananas are consumed 
per day in the city of Chicago and suburbs alone. 

The quality of our southern Florida banana should in a short 
time become known throughout the country, for if they are picked 
after they have begun to show color, the flavor will be greatly 
superior to the foreign article. Aside from the price obtained 
from the fruit, a great many slips or suckers can often be sold 
for remunerative prices, forming an additional revenue. 

As they are of very rank growth, they should be kept well 
irrigated; in fact, the best bananas are grown upon such soils 
as are located only slightly above the general water level, the 
roots having at all times easy access to the moisture. 

There are other great possibilities in connection with banana 
culture, as the stems of the plant have a very tough fiber and 
my impression is that a very good quality of hemp could be 
derived therefrom. 

A variety locally known as the horse banana is used through- 
out the South and is m_uch rehshed. It is fried and served as 
banana fritters and is certainly much superior to fried potatoes. 



* See last part of Cliapier VI. 




PAW-PAW TEEE ON MR. WALDIN's FAKM. 




CHAPTER XXIX. 

CULTURE OF PAW PAWS. 

HE ripe fruit of this tree eaten for dessert with 
cream and sugar is not only a delicious dish 
but takes upon, itself the responsibility of the 
digestion of the preceding meal. It is said 
that the papaya (paw paw) fruit can be eaten 
every day for two years without any ill efifects. 
One or two experiments in cooking the ripe 
or unripe fruit with tough meat will soon con- 
vince anyone that with the aid of the paw paw the toughest meat 
may be made as soft and tender as you please. 

The paw paw is really a large herb and hence should be grown 
from seed in the same way as the tomato or melon. Professor 
P. J. Webster of the United States Sub-tropical Laboratory at 
Miami states that less than one per cent of a batch of Florida 
seedlings bear superior fruit and this accounts for the scarcity 
of the paw paw on the market. There are great numbers of 
this fruit growing wild throughout the South Florida jungles 
and hammocks. They are cross-fertilized by the numerous in- 
sects and moths. Such cross-fertilization can be avoided by ob- 
taining good varieties of paw paws from tropical localities where 
they come true from seed, and pollinating one or two flowers 
by hand, carefully tying them up in paper bags to keep insects 
from further pollinating them. By this method there is no doubt 
but what improved strains can be grown. The paw paw, like 
the willow and the date palm, has two kinds, of trees, the barren 
which bears the staminate flowers, and the fruiting tree which 
has the pistillate flowers. Rather frequently the former may bear 
bisexual flowers at the ends of its long flower stalks, which flowers 
turn into rather small fruits. More rarely the pistillate tree may 
have some perfect flowers, provided with stamens. 



io8 



IN THE EVERGLADES 109 

All parts of the paw paw tree, except the perfectly ripe fruits, 
contain a milk white latex, which exudes from the slightest 
wound, flowing- rapidly at first and then slackening, probably 
because it coagulates in the latex tubes. The latex soon clots 
and dries on the plant and so tends to seal up any wound. It 
has a corrosive action upon the skin, and if the raw latex from 
green fruits, etc., is swallowed, it may tend to cause intestinal 
inflammation. The raw latex has an extremely potent digestive 
action upon proteids. Thus if a slice of tough meat, as a beef 
steak, which in the tropics may be cooked and eaten an hour 
or two after being killed, is well rubbed with the juice of the 
paw paw leaves or the green fruits, or even the pulp of the ripe 
fruit, and cooked, it becomes tender and is readih' masticated. 
The ripe fruit, which does not contain the visible milky latex, acts 
in the same way on proteids. 

When perfectly ripe the fruit of the paw paw is quite soft, 
but has lost all acridity and the milky juice has disappeared. There 
is no doubt whatever that this dessert fruit eaten after a good 
dinner greatly aids the digestive process. It also, like the fig, 
acts as a gentle laxative. 

The paw paw requires a well drained soil and is readily killed 
by stagnant water about the roots. Thus it grows commonly 
in South Florida wild, in high hammocks and shell mounds. If 
grown on rather poor sandy soil, it should be enriched with 
plenty of humus. If only a few plants are grown, as for home 
consumption, the following method has been tried in a light vol- 
canic soil in the West Indies, securing excellent results : Dig 
holes about ten feet apart, in well drained soil, two or three feet 
deep and three or four feet square, fill them with a compost of 
soil, farmyard manure, rotting weeds, or humus of any kind, 
adding unleached wood ashes. Plant several paw paws in each 
of these holes and cover with any good mulch. Of course the 
young plants will need water. As soon as the first blossoms ap- 
pear, cut out the staminate ones so as to leave only fruiting trees. 
For this purpose several plants should always be planted in a hill. 
A few paw paws may be planted near by on poor ground and 



no TRUCK FARMING 

one or two staminate trees out of these left to pollinate the others. 
In very dr}^ weather the plants should be irrigated, for while 
they will grow in well drained soil they, at all times, should be 
well supplied with water. If they are well grown without a check, 
producing large leaved healthy plants, they will in this warm 
climate fruit almost continuously. I have known cases of paw 
paws reaching an age of several years ; the best fruits, howover, 
are produced on the young trees, say one year old. Heavy crops 
can be grown on well drained Everglade soil and no doubt this 
fruit on account of its medicinal qualities will steadily grow in 
demand. Should insects bother the immature fruits they can 
be annihilated by applications of tobacco dust. 




BANANA PLANTS, MR. WALDIN S FARil. 




PINEAPPLE FIELD, SOUTHERN FLORIDA. 



CHAPTER XXX. 
CULTURE OF PINEAPPLES. 




ATIV^ES of cold countries and those living for 
• many years in the continuous heat of summer 
between the tropics, are apt to suffer sometimes 
from digestive derangements. Nature has 
planted the remedy in the shape of various 
fruits, such as the pineapple as well as the 
melon paw paw. For instance, an authority 
notes : "You can sup on many kinds of in- 
digestible food and sleep the sleep of the just and put all night- 
mares to flight if you who partake will assimilate a little pine- 
apple or eat a melon paw paw, as he prefers, before retiring. Of 
course, it will not neutralize acute indigestion but will prevent 
it, and as stated, is a Godsend to him who dissipates." 

Pineapples are generally grown upon a soil which one wiio 
is accustomed to grow plants of any variety would be apt to 
call sterile or worthless. The simple fact that they will grow 
upon this kind of soil, in spite of its sterility, does not prove by 
any means that they prefer that class of soil. I have found in 
my past experience that the pineapple will produce much better 
upon a soil which, while light and porous, is at the same time 
rich in such fertilizers as are essential for all crops. Choose 
such a piece of land as is naturally well drained. It is not neces- 
sary for it to be sand or even half sand, but better still a soil 
that contains a considerable amount of decayed vegetable mold 
or humus. 

Plant in patches (according to variety) from six to ten rows 
Avide. The larger growing varieties, such as the Smooth Cayenne 
and Porto Rico, thrive much better if planted in wide rows, the 
beds being put some distance farther apart. Rows eighteen inches 
apart are considered about right for Red Spanish, twenty to 



112 



IN THE EVERGLADES 113 

twenty-four inches, and even farther for Smooth Cayenne and 
Porto Rico. They should be planted preferably in the month of 
August; and by all means, if suckers are procurable, they should 
be given preference. After first cleaning off the surface leaves 
from the stem end, they may be laid aside for a few days in a 
shady place to start their roots, which they will do in the course 
of a week or ten days in this humid climate, and at this season 
of the year. 

In the meantime the beds should be carefully prepared by 
digging out all stones, sticks and trash of any kind. Rake to a 
smooth even surface, elevating the center of each bed slightly 
to facilitate the removal of surface water. Marks should then 
be struck out the desired distance apart ; mark the other way in 
squares. A depression is then made with a pole or stick of 
suitable size corresponding in diameter with the butts of the 
pineapple slips and the plants firmly pressed into the soil. Care 
must be taken not to press them in too deep but just so they will 
stand upright firmly without toppling over. If the soil is sandy, 
there will be danger of their being washed in the crowns by 
heavy rains, and it is necessary, therefore, to drop a small amount 
of cotton seed meal or ground castor pomace in the hearts. Thus 
if sand should accumulate in the hearts, the castor pomace or 
cotton seed meal unites with it and makes a sticky mass, which 
will adhere to the leaves and will be removed by the growth 
of the plant as they grow from the center; the plant will thus 
clean itself. 

Another excellent method with which I have had splendid 
results is mulching the field thoroughly with any kind of grass, 
such as glade hay or weeds, from nearby fields. This is first 
spread over the entire surface of the field to a uniform depth of 
two or three inches and the plants are planted in this mass at 
regular distances apart as before stated. By following this method 
no trouble whatever will be had later with grass or weeds as this 
mulching will effectually smother out all such growth and will 
supply the pineapple plants for a number of years with decayed 



114 TRUCK FARMING 

humus and fertility, which is very essential to their growth and 
development. 

Our best growers usually fertilize four or six times a year, 
taking extra precaution to use no phosphate containing acid. Bone 
meal in its different forms is used for this purpose exclusively. 
At the same time no muriate of potash should be used as the salt 
in it is very injurious to the pineapple. A good mixture is one 
containing raw ground bone, cotton seed meal or castor pomace, 
relying upon the bone meal for phosphoric acid and the sulphate 
of potash for potash content. If not grown by the mulch method, 
it will be necessary to use the scuffle hoe frecjuently as all weeds 
and grass should be destroyed before they get large enough to 
injure the plants or crowd them in any way. In fact, here, as 
in all other cases, destroying the weeds before they get a chance 
to show any considerable growth is preferable to attempting their 
destruction after they have become established. 

If good stout suckers are used and carefully planted as out- 
lined above, fully 75 per cent and sometimes as high as 95 per 
cent will produce fruit inside of the next twelve months. I have 
carried on in an experimental way small plantations of pineapples 
on Everglade land, having planted them by the mulch method, 
and out of 108 suckers planted had 96 apples averaging over four 
pounds each within thirteen months of planting. This variety 
was the Smooth Cayenne, which is considered a winter bearer and 
for this reason is often very profitable. However, fruit of this 
particular kind should be picked in rather a green state, as it is 
so heavy and juicy that it is liable to bruise and leak if picked 
when showing the least bit of color. 

The crop should not be picked until thoroughly filled ; the 
fruit is known to be ready to pick when the eyes are plump 
and when the skin begins to color. Some ,of our growers here 
are shortsighted and frec[uently pick the pineapples before they 
are thoroughly filled, and for this reason great injury is done 
annually. The importance of marketing nothing but nice plump 
juic}' fruit cannot be overestimated; partially ripe pineapples are 
liable to wither and dry out, and this has a detrimental eft'ect 



IN THE EA'ERGLADES 115 

upon the market. Should a novice chance to luiy one of these 
withered pineapples he can hardly be induced to buy the second 
time. If, on the other hand, he should happen to procure a fine 
juicy fruit, he will ever after be a customer for this product. 

The variety mostly grown for market is the Red Spanish as 
it will stand shipment best. But a few of the finer varieties, 
such as the Abacca, Porto Rico or Smooth Cayciiiic, should always 
be grown for home use, for while they are too soft for shipment 
they are of much superior flavor. 




CHAPTER XXXI. 

.CULTURE OF JAMAICA SORREL. 

AMAICA SORREL, better described as the 
Southern Cranberry, is very easily grown in 
the South. It is best planted in February or 
March. The seed should be placed in well pre- 
pared ground, preferably in hills about two feet 
apart. The rows should be placed about three 
to four feet apart. 

Shallow culture should be given at all times 
with an abundance of fertihzer.* As this plant is very subject 
to root knot, precaution should be taken not to place it in such 
localities as are apt to be infested. 

It is also subject to mildew, but this can be prevented by 
dusting with sulphur. 

Heavy crops of this succulent novelty can be grown and 
profitably marketed throughout the South during the entire Fall 
and Winter months. 

The sprouts and calixes should be gathered when tender and 
before they have reached a mature age. They are usually mar- 
keted in six-basket carriers. The profits vary largely with the 
market, but $1.50 is the standard price per crate. 



* See last part of Chapter VI. 



116 




MR. WALDIN AND HIS FAMILY. 







YOUNG GRAPEFRUIT TREE ON THE WALDIN FARM. 




CHAPTER XXXII. 

CULTQRE OF FORAGE PLANTS. . 

HE industry of growing forage plants, either for 
feed or soiling- purposes, is still in its infancy 
in this part of the South. However, demon- 
strations have been carried on to such an extent 
iliat we alread}'- have a large number of plants 
suitable for both feeding animals and enriching 
the soil. 

The plant that is probably the most easily 
grown and which I would highly recommend to the amateur 
grower is the velvet bean. It stands foremost in this respect, 
the only drawback being that it is hard to save and cure properly 
for forage purposes. 

Considerable has been written about this crop. Some find 
much dif^culty in making hay of it and are, therefore, ready to 
condemn it at once. In my past experience, however, I have 
found it an excellent, nutritious feed, comparing favorably with 
alfalfa and clover hay. Of course, in our humid climate, it must 
be cured with great care. It must not be cut when the dew is 
on it, and it must be raked in shallow windrows or piles at once, 
allowing it to cure in this shape. I have frequently raked it 
directly (not even cutting it) with a steel sulk}^ rake, tearing 
the roots from the ground, and have found this practice a splendid 
one. It must be left to cure for several days after raking, ac- 
cording to the atmospheric conditions, after which it must be 
turned ; a great deal of labor can be saved by tearing the bunches 
apart with a sulky rake, for if put in large heaps the long tendrils 
are apt to hold the heaps together and make it practically im- 
possible to handle it or fork it thereafter. It must be thoroughly 
cured before putting into hay mows or stacks. This does not 
alone pertain to the leaves or foliage but to the vines themselves. 



ii8 



IN THE EVERGLADES 119 

It is so nutritious that although it should turn black from fre- 
quent heavy dews or light rains it is still well worth while to 
preserve it for feed, as it can be fed during the season of the 
year w^hen animals are not hard at work. Fed green to cows, it 
is a most extraordinarily nutritious feed, producing milk unsur- 
passed in richness. It is also the very best of green poultry feeds, 
poultry preferring it to any other green feed — they even eat the 
ends of the green tendrils or vines. Horses must be fed very 
sparingly of it, as it will cause them to bloat readily. 

The hay should be salted before curing and putting in mows, 
as it is then much more relished by all animals. It is much to be 
preferred to cow peas from one point of view, as it is not subject 
to root knot. I have frequently experienced considerable trouble 
from this source. 

Cow peas can be sown broadcast as light as three pecks to 
the acre with splendid results. They are usually planted in rows, 
very much as described in chapter on string beans. The hay 
should be cured in the same manner as velvet beans but it does 
not require as much attention, as this crop per acre is much 
lighter in bulk. 

Velvet beans ave usually sown in rows about ten feet apart. 
I have found, he wever, that they cover the ground much more 
quickly if the rows are sown one-half this distance, using for this 
purpose a much heavier seeding, sowing one or one and one-half 
bushels of velvet bean seed to the acre. 

Of the different kinds of cow peas, we place first the Iron 
variety as much to be preferred. A pure strain of these, if care- 
fully saved, are less apt to produce root knot. In my experience, 
however, I have found them subject to this disease, particularly 
if planted on land which is already infested with the injurious 
nematode. 

Among the native Florida grasses suitable for forage the 
beggar-weed stands foremost. This, if cut at an early stage 
before the seed is developed, will sprout up repeatedly from the 
root and several crops can be cut, similar to alfalfa. I consider 
the hay of beggar-weed in no way inferior to the latter. It must 



I20 TRUCK FARMING 

be sown on well prepared soil at the rate of fifteen to twenty 
pounds per acre. 

Different varieties of millet and Kaffir corn are also easily 
grown and if carefully cured make very good feed indeed. It 
is best in this humid climate, however, to feed all hay within 
a few months after it has been stacked away, as there is much 
more danger of hay becoming musty here than in the more 
northern and temperate countries. 

I find for soiling, the velvet bean is probably one which Avill 
add the greatest amount of nutritive matter to the soil. It is 
more free from diseases and more rank in growth than any of 
the other plants before named. Before plowing the velvet beans 
under, should it be desirable to use the land shortly thereafter, 
it is best to cross cut the entire field with a sharp disc harrow, 
leaving them to cure for a few days in this stage, and then plow 
the entire mass under with a turn plow. However, should it 
not be desirable to farm the land for some four or six weeks 
thereafter, they can if first planked down thoroughly to the 
ground, be plowed under directly without the process of discing, 
using a heavy coulter on the plow for this purpose. 

It is claimed in the northern countries that leguminous plants 
will add from $4.00 to $10.00 in ammoniates to each acre of soil, 
but I am imder the impression, as our fertilizers are valued much 
higher in this territory, that we receive twice this amount, with 
even better results from the velvet bean. 

' Another fact that must not be lost sight of in this connection 
is that these leguminous crops benefit the soil directly by shad- 
ing it during the protracted summer months, thus having a ten- 
dency to add to the soil a value which cannot be computed by a 
chemist's analysis. 

Para grass will produce great quantities of forage here also 
and makes excellent hay. 

A number of our northern weed seeds seem to have acclimated 
themselves to this country and may be used with great profit 
for soiling purposes also. Among the latter are the . Spanish 
Needle, Rag Weed, and various other weeds. 



IN THE EVERGLADES 121 

It is possible that we may be able to acclimate some of the 
clovers and alfalfa. Various favorable reports have been made 
upon these useful leguminous plants. In all cases, it is best to 
have the field thoroughly drained before attempting to grow 
them, since they do not thrive in a sour or stagnant soil. In 
seeding clover or beggar weed, great care must be exercised not 
to get the seed too deep in the ground. Neither should the seed 
be sown when the surface soil is exceptionally dry, because under 
such conditions the sun's rays are apt to penetrate and destroy 
the vitality of the seed before it has a chance to sprout. A very 
good way is to first thoroughly prepare the field and then sow 
the seed directly after a heavy rain. 

Often much can be gained by sowing these seeds directly be- 
tween the rows of vegetables at their last working. The land 
at that time is free of weeds and the growth of the young plants 
is not apt to interfere with the vegetables before they can be 
harvested. By this method, considerable labor can be saved. 

Should it be desired to save seed of any kind, great care must 
be taken to choose a dry time of the season to pick and cure 
them in, as otherwise the vitality will be impaired. Velvet beans 
are best if picked right from the field and cured in an airy, shady 
packing house. Should they be infested with weevil, as they are 
liable to be, the seed, directly after being threshed out, should 
be placed in a tight receptacle and treated with bi-sulphite of 
carbon, placing about a gill in a shallow dish in the top of the 
barrel or receptacle in which the seeds are deposited, covering 
it over tightly with newspapers and other covers to exclude the 
air. Precaution should be taken not to expose the fumes 
of this dangerous explosive to the open fire as there is danger of 
its igniting. Seed thus treated may be kept for the following 
season. In fact, all seed should be sown only in the season fol- 
lowing the one in which they are grown, as the humid atmosphere 
here has a tendency to destroy their vitality in a very short time. 




CLUSTER OF GRAPEFRUIT. 



CHAPTER XXXIil. 
INSECTS AND FUNGI. 




S WE have no freezes to help destro\' insects, 
we no doubt have a greater number to contend 
with than our Northern growers. We have lit- 
tle trouble with them during our rainy season, 
but on the other hand, we are invariably pes- 
tered with them in a protracted drouth, thus 
showing that wet as well as cold weather is 
detrimental to them. 
It seems a fact that fungi and insects of all kinds adapt them- 
selves to the particular crops grown, and no sooner is a certain 
crop produced successfully a number of years in succession in 
any locality, untilnijurious fungi and insects appear, at first in 
a scattering wa}', but soon making themselves conspicuous by their 
number and the consequential damage done ; thus the tobacco 
worm, the tomato worm, the boll weevil and other kindred insects 
and fungi grow abundantly, and are each known in the country 
where these certain crops are largely grown. Their stealthy ap- 
proach generally finds the unsuspecting . and otherwise busy 
farmer unprepared to meet their onslaught. In fact, even after 
the grower has, by years of experience, become thoroughly ac- 
quainted with their injurious habits, they still come almost every 
season as more or less of a surprise. It is nothing uncommon, 
therefore, for him to awake some fine morning and find his 
thrifty beautiful crops already partly devoured by these destructive 
vermin, and I will venture to say that not a single season has 
passed by but what dozens of growers are in this way discour- 
agingly surprised and disappointed. 

As in most cases of this kind, prevention is always to be 
preferred to an actual remedy. It thus behooves the grower to 
keep a sharp lookout, thereby endeavoring to anticipate these 



123 



124 , TRUCK FARMING 

unwelcome guests. This is best done by applying substances 
known to be nauseous to them, by disguising the scent or smell 
of the young plants, using harmless non-poisonous substances 
such as powdered sulphur, or finely ground tobacco dust, etc. I 
prefer to use in addition a combination of fungicides with poisons 
added (such as Dry Bordeaux Mixture with Paris Green) there- 
by being enabled to both prevent and annihilate insects and fungi 
with the same applications. We have found in a practice of many 
years, that the different forms of Bordeaux Mixture, both wet 
and dry, are preferable for this purpose to any other remedy 
exploited at the present day. By the addition of Paris Green to 
this mixture, we obtain an insecticide and fungicide, which, be- 
sides having the virtue of destroying both of these enemies, seems 
to have the faculty of stimulating certain varieties of plants. 
Whether this is purely imaginary, probably caused by the dark, 
rich appearance produced by heavy applications of this fungicide, 
or if it really has this stimulating effect, I am not entirely clear. 
This I know, however, that such plants as tomatoes, egg plants, 
peppers, or Irish potatoes, which have been regularly treated to 
applications of this Bordeaux and Paris Green treatment, in- 
variably have an appearance indicating thrift and rapid growth. 

Next in importance is a fungicide I would name Flowers of 
Sulphur. This, when applied in the early stages of plant growth, 
seems to give almost as beneficial results as Bordeaux Mixture. 
Paris Green can also be mixed with this, and if it is first adul- 
terated, to the extent of about one-half, with air-slacked lime 
(the lime having the effect in this case of neutrahzing the other- 
wise caustic action of the Paris Green) it answers almost as well 
as Bordeaux Mixture and is much cheaper. 

Foremost among useful poisonous insecticides stands arsenate 
of lead. This form of arsenic will not dissolve in water and 
therefore has no caustic action upon foHage. This insecticide 
if properly prepared can be used upon any foliage without in- 
jurious eft'ects whatever. It mixes very readily with Avater ana 
is held in suspension for a considerable length of time. It will 



•IN THE EVERGLADES 125 

probably come to more general use as we become better ac- 
quainted with its beneficial results. 

As a spray for sucking insects, like the green aphis, for ex- 
ample, which often does very serious damage in our fields of 
cucumbers and egg plants, I have found nothing better than a 
solution of whale oil soap. It has the power of not only destroy- 
ing these insects together with their eggs, but the disagreeable 
fishv smell seems to drive away the adult insects and keeps them 
from depositing their eggs for some length of time after an ap- 
plication. 

Great care must be taken always in applying these remedies 
to make sure that the caustic effect will not burn the foliage. 
Before applying insecticides it is best to first make individual tests 
upon each crop, for a crop that is growing luxuriantly is much 
more easily damaged by such strong applications than one which 
has its foliage hardened through drouth or other detrimental con- 
ditions. 

As before mentioned, it is much better to combat both fungi 
and insects by anticipating or preventing their appearance, for 
after they have once gained a strong foothold it is a difficult 
matter to exterminate them. "An ounce of prevention is worth 
a pound of cure." 

In view of the fact that so many of the insecticides and fungi- 
cides are either fraudulently combined and are extremely ex- 
pensive considering the value of the ingredients employed, it 
would be well for the public to be very sure of the composition 
and value of any such compound before purchasing it in quanti- 
ties, and for this reason I would advise the grower to obtain 
samples and send them on to the State Chemist at Tallahassee 
for analysis. 

In many cases a great deal can be found out by consulting 
bulletins from Experimental Stations dealing with this subject. 
It is to supply this want that the Bureau of Chemistry has issued 
bulletins which are a preliminary report to a bulletin more tech- 
nical in character, which can also be gotten from the Agricultural 
Department at AVashington and which should be in the possession 
of all contemplating truck farming in this country. 



126 TRUCK FARMING 

We seldom find a luxuriant thrifty field damaged b}^ insects, 
but on the other hand they seem to delight in damaging a field 
which is hampered in growth in any way. Thus, vegetables are 
frequently attacked by mildew in extremely dry weather, and 
disastrous conditions are more frequently met with when the soil 
is in want of moisture or the foliage has not been washed suf- 
ficiently by rains heavy enough to benefit the crop. Thus light 
rains are of little or no benefit and heavy fogs and dews during 
drouths (this happens quite often early in the mornings in 
Florida) encourage mildew as well as injurious insects when the 
soil is very dry and the plants are in an unthrifty condition gen- 
erally. Early applications of sulphur are probably the remedy 
of greatest benefit here. I have found heavy applications of sul- 
phur beneficial under these conditions even after the mildew had 
advanced considerably. 

You will find that the successful trucker who has his crops 
Avell in hand as regards culture, irrigation, etc., is troubled but 
little with insects or fungi ; a healthy plant seems to have the 
same immunity from disease that healthy humans or animals have. 

By the scientific breeding and selection of plants much has 
also been done. Occasionally healthy plants are found in dis- 
eased fields and by carefully saving the seeds therefrom valuable 
acquisitions are added to our lists. 

Sulphur, if applied when plants are young, will prevent tomato 
rust and the spotting of egg plants and peppers. Should a field 
be known to be particularly subject to these diseases, kainit 
should be harrowed in at the rate of 600 pounds per acre, as 
described in notes on fertilizing. This seems to destroy injurious 
germs and at the same time supplies abundant potash. 

Isolating a field is often practiced with good results, as such 
a field will often mature an entire crop before it is found by a 
sufficient number of insects to do material damage. 

I have found one of the best remedies for the extermination 
of cut and other worms to be frequent applications of poisoned 
bran made by thorough mixing (while dry) one pound of 
Paris Green with 50 to 100 pounds of wheat bran, moistening af- 
terwards just enough so it will stick together. This can be applied 



IN THE E\^ERGLADES 12; 

around the roots of small plants, or a tablespoonful scattered under 
and around a larger plant. 

We once had a field so badly infested with cut worms that 
out of a thousand plants set out in the evening, scarcely a hun- 
dred remained unharmed in the morning. We at once applied 
poisoned bran broadcast, sowing it like oats, and when setting 
out two days afterwards found scarcely a plant touched. The 
satisfaction gotten from this test was probably worth as much 
as the crop to us. Great care must, of course, be exercised not 
to drop any large lumps of bran, otherwise fowls or animals may 
be able to partake of enough to destroy them. 

When planting cabbage, cauliflower and egg plants in the 
early Fall it sometimes happens that they afe infested by a small 
greenish or yellowish worm ; this worm can best be destroyed 
by applying- a pinch of fresh strong pyrethrum directly to the 
tender heart of the plant. I have never found them troubled 
much after the plants are half matured. 




MAKING AN ORCHARD PAY FOR ITSELF BY PLANTING VEGETABLES BETWEEN THE 

TREE ROWS. 




SUMMER FORAGE CROP IN YOUNG EVERGLADE GRAPEFRUIT ORCHARD. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 
TREE GROWING IN CONNECTION WITH TRUCKING. 




FAR-SIGHTED grower invariably looks for- 
ward far enough to see that the most important 
adjunct to trucking is to produce a crop of 
useful trees in connection with his vegetable 
industry. In fact, all varieties of useful trees, 
particularly the citrus variety, thrive best on a 
thoroughly cultivated and fertile soil, which 
has been carefully drained and irrigated. 
For best results the land should be plowed in widths corre- 
sponding to the distance apart that the trees are to be planted. I 
find in heavier soils that thirty or thirty-five feet is none too far 
apart to have the rows of citrus trees; this pertains particularly 
to grape fruit. I have known of grape fruit trees which pro- 
duced a diameter of top thirty feet across when they were ten 
years old. It is preferable to plow lands for trees twice in the 
same direction, plowing the lands toward the centers each time 
and planting the trees upon the apex, leaving the furrows to 
connect with lateral and sublateral ditches for drainage. 

For the first two years the trucking industry can be carried 
on among these trees indiscriminately, planting such varieties of 
vegetables upon which it is necessary to use fertilizer of a highly 
nitrogenous* nature, as tomatoes, Irish potatoes, peppers or egg 
plant. It is best, however, to be more careful in regard to heavy 
applications of vegetable fertilizer after the second year, as the 
disease known as "Die Back" (due to overfertilization) is apt 
to gain a foothold. I have found that fine crops of beans can be 
grown between the tree rows, without detriment to the trees, 
the third and fourth year by applying only such fertilizers as are 
locally known as fruit and vine fertilizers, or in other words, 



See last part of Chapter VI. 



129 



I30 



TRUCK FARMING 



containing a low per cent of ammonia,* probably 2^ per cent or 
3 per cent, and increasing the potash and phosphate propor- 
tionately. 

It is also advisable to keep away from the trunks of the trees 
several feet the third year with this fertilizer, and increase the 
distance each year, corresponding with the development of the 
growth of the trees. On the other hand, such trees as pecans 
and tropical fruit trees can be grown for as much as six or seven 
years under heavy applications of ordinary vegetable fertilizer 
without detrimental results. In fact, my experience has prompted 
me to believe that these heavy applications are beneficial to any 
of the above trees throughout the first six or seven years of their 
growth. 

Much has been written about the influence of the stock upon 
the scion, but in no variety of fruits is it so marked as in the 
citrus family. That the soil has considerable to do with this can 
hardly be questioned, as trees that produce satisfactorily upon 
certain stocks in one section of Florida are an absolute failure 
in other localities of the State. For instance, most of the growers 
in Central Florida have used the trifoliata stock with success, but 
it certainly has proven an absolute failure in the southern part 
of the State. Because of the failure of this stock to produce here, 
it was at one time considered impossible to grow oranges and 
grape fruit in extreme Southern Florida, but just at this critical 
time the sour or rough lemon stock showed its adaptability here 
and successful crops are now grown upon it. 

One serious fault they have, however, is that this fruit goes 
dry or pithy too early in the Spring, and another is that a sort 
of second growth is produced in the fruit when the sap starts in 
February which has a tendency to thicken the skin, and for these 
reasons hurts its marketing quality and even makes it unsalable. 
To produce a fruit par excellence, one having the finest quality 
and flavor and one that will retain its weight throughout the sum- 
mer, a sour orange stock should be used to bud on. As this stock 
will not thrive on ordinary thin or poor pine land (sand), it can- 
not be recommended for this soil, but it is pre-eminently adapted 



See last part of Chapter' VI. 



IN THE EVERGLADES 131 

to the rich soil of the Everglades where it will grow and thrive 
as it does naturally along the margins of the hammocks. Being 
immune to the disease known as "foot-rot" further commends it 
for Everglade planting. 

Other varieties of trees should be grown as wand breaks 
around the edges of each separate field. I find that bamboos, 
cocoanut trees and the eucalyptus respond very well in the Ever- 
glades proper. These should be planted rather thickly in a belt 
encircling, if possible, each ten acre plantation. Bamboos are very 
valuable in this respect, as they not only offer great resistance 
to the wind but produce a great number of stakes which can in 
future years be used as braces to hold up the enormous crops 
of grape fruit and oranges, etc. There will also be a market 
for this useful W'Ood in time. At present a great quantity of it is 
imported annually from foreign countries, particularlv China, 
it being in strong demand for baskets, ornamental work, furniture, 
window shades, porch screens, etc. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 
NOTES ON FROST. 




LTHOUGH this part of the South is generally 
termed a frost-proof section, this claim does not 
apply to tender vegetables. Citrus and tropical 
fruits, however, are practically immune to such 
light frosts as we have. 

The truth is good enough and we need not 
try to impress anyone with anything but the 
facts as they exist here to induce immigration. 
From the middle of December until the middle of March we are 
in more or less danger of light frosts for short intervals. These 
frosts extend well to the south end of this peninsula. 

As to the conditions which produce damaging frosts, they 
are as numerous as the kind of crops raised and vary with local 
topography and proximity to bodies of timber or water. Soil 
conditions have also considerable to do with their severity. The 
temperature of the air, in some instances many feet above the 
earth, and the presence of clouds are other important controlling 
factors also having effect. Calm or comparatively still air is a con- 
dition which favors the formation of frost. On windy nights, the 
air is not permitted to arrange itself in layers according to its 
density. Ordinarily the densest and coldest air is near the surface 
of the earth, but if it is at all windy it is kept stirred up or mixed 
by the wind and is not allowed to settle and do injury to tender 
vegetation. 

The prospective grower has, therefore, a great many different 
conditions to take into consideration. For instance, a body of 
land that lies south and east of a body of water will almost cer- 
tainly have ample protection from frost. Soil conditions also 
often have the effect of driving away a frost as well as bringing 
about such conditions as will have a tendency to draw frost. 



132 



IN THE EVERGLADES 133 

Thus it has been proven that land that is not well drained is 
much more subject to severe frosts than land which is thoroughly 
drained. Again, a thorough irrigation just before a frost has 
been found to drive it away, probably by reason of the greater 
radiation taking place from the earth's pores. 

Interesting experiments have been made by the United States 
Government in the cranberry region, and it has been found that 
thorough under drainage of the land has had the effect of raising 
the temperature from four to eight degrees. It has also been 
noted in these regions that large areas of certain well-drained 
fields were unhurt, while other fields lying adjacent, but not 
drained, suffered serious injury. Thus we may expect more 
damage from frost to those fields that are not properly drained. 

Again, when fields are thoroughly drained, nitrification sets 
in and heat is at once produced, thus having a tendency by gen- 
erating warmth and with the aeration derived therefrom of driv- 
ing the frost upwards, showing that underground drainage has 
an additional beneficial effect in furthering this decomposing or 
nitrogenous action in the soil. 

Large applications of nitrogenous substances, such as arc 
contained in compost or humus, also have a desirable effect. One 
fact that must not be lost sight of in this connection is that while 
these frosts are generally looked upon as disastrous to the country 
in general, they have a beneficial effect in this way : If it should 
destroy some of the fields in any locality, it will enhance the 
market value of all products in fields remaining unhurt. The 
profits in my experience have often doubled and trebled under 
these conditions. I have experienced times when I was under 
the impression that I had lost as much as 75 per cent of my 
crop when really the gain on the remainder was such that it had 
really increased the value of my entire output — or what would 
have been formerly my entire output — by 100 per cent or more. 
Hence, I would advise everyone who is confronted by this dilemma 
to first make sure that it is not visionary and apply himself closely 
to the remnants of his crop, giving it the best of culture and 
supplying other conditions conducive to its growth, thereby in a 
large measure making up in value and often really increasing 



134 TRUCK FARMING 

his income from what seemingly would have been a loss. Another 
beneficial effect of frost is that in this tropical climate nearly all 
insects are at once destroyed for the time being and such crops 
as are greatly hampered by them can be grown without ex- 
periencing any trouble from this source for some months to 
follow. One can always rest assured that when frost touches this 
section it has wiped out everything north of here and that the 
market on all perishables will advance strongly in consequence. 

Inasmuch as frost in this territory is infrequent and light, it 
often happens that only the foliage of tender growth is damaged. 
In this case liberal applications of nitrate of soda will often have 
the effect of restoring this foliage in a comparatively short time, 
thereby bringing the plants, if otherwise thrifty and healthy, back 
to their original state of vigor in a very short time. 

I can here relate from my own experience an instance wherein 
I had several acres of beans badly scorched by an unexpected 
frost — in fact, there were large parts of the field that seemed 
entirely destroyed. The sun had hardly risen until I was on my 
way to our nearest fertilizer dealer, from whom I at once bought 
all the nitrate of soda at hand and before night of the same day 
had made liberal applications to the entire field. Before ten 
days had clasped I had the original foliage of this crop restored 
and the profits in this case were as high as $2,000 per acre. We 
at this same time saw numerous instances in which this same 
remedy could have been applied in the neighborhood, but where, 
through want of care or knowledge, mildew and other diseases 
quickly ruined the crops. 

For further protection, the grower must depend upon artificial 
appliances. These appliances are designed to produce the fol- 
lowing effects or results : 

To prevent a rapid radiation of heat from the earth. 

To artificially charge the air with moisture by applying a 
light spray to the cold air. 

To create artificial drafts whereby the warmer air is mixed 
and the cold air is not allowed to settle to the surface of the earth. 

To actually cover or roof the plants. 



I\ THE EX^ERGLADES 135 

Of course, the latter is found impractical)le on large areas, but 
can be taken advantage of in cases of valuable seed beds. 

Devices designed to prevent rapid radiation of heat from the 
earth include screens which can be drawn over the plants. These 
devices are of a necessity limited to very small areas on account 
of the great expense incurred. 

Probably the great remedy of the future will be to build 
smudge fires of any material which will create considerable smoke. 
For this purpose litter of any variety can be used. However, it is 
impcssible in many cases to get enough of this material to continue 
a smudge for any great length of time and for this reason piles 
of logs or stumps can be collected from clearings of land and 
can be stored to great advantage. Tar has been used for this 
purpose with beneficial results. Of late we are offered a variety 
of smudge pots, using as fuel crude petroleum, which is supplied 
from storage tanks or wagons driven through the fields. These 
have been largely used in the peach and apple belts of the north. 
A number of them are placed upon the market in this country 
and so far results have been very gratifying. 

We may possibly be able to utilize briquettes made of peat, and 
I am under the impression that if these were thoroughly dried 
and saturated with crude petroleum they could be stored for 
future use on the edges of the fields, and if they were burned 
in an oven or sheet iron stove they would no doubt last for a 
great length of time and give correspondingly good results. 

Where an overhead spray is available frost cannot do damage 
and a number of fields have already been protected in this way. 

In the Everglades sub-lateral ditches can be filled with water 
by pumps of large capacity, and if this water is allowed to flow 
slowly through the ditches it will thoroughly protect a field from 
frost. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 
BIRDS. 




IRDS play a very important part in the economy 
of Nature, and by their destruction of insects 
lend material aid to the farmer and horticul- 
turist. We are greatly indebted to birds for 
the extermination not alone of insects, but also 
for the destruction of numerous weed seeds. 
Everything should be done, therefore, to en- 
courage birds to nest and stay near our vege- 
table gardens. 

In former years in the northern and central States, in which 
I have had considerable experience in truck gardening and hor- 
ticulture before coming to this country, I used to do all I could 
to encourage the blue bird, of which there were a great many 
in that vicinity, to nest near my truck gardens. The English 
sparrow was at that time making a general invasion and monopoly 
of the country, thereby driving the blue birds from their usual 
haunts. By placing boxes, such as are suitable for their nesting, 
around the edges of my vegetable field I found every one of them 
inhabited by these little friends. The sparrow insists upon in- 
habiting boxes or receptacles near a human habitation, but the 
blue bird will nest in any box or cavity such as, for instance, where 
a woodpecker has formerly had its habitation. While these little 
iriends do not inhabit this southern country, and I must say I 
miss them very much, I find numerous other varieties of birds 
from the North here during our winter months. Much as has 
been written both for and against the English sparrow^ but from 
years of experience and close observation my impressions are 
strongly in his favor. The complaint is made that the adult spar-: 
rows are grain eaters, and that they feed only their young on 
insects. Of course this is not so, but even if it were, they rear 



137 



138 TRUCK FARMING 

such a number of broods that they are busy during the greater 
part of the year carrying and feeding them insects ; especially 
is this so here in the South where Winter interferes but little 
with their brooding season. 

I think, judging by their number, that every wren in the 
United States winters in South Florida. I have seen these little 
fellows by the hundreds throughout our pine woods and fields 
in the Winter season. 

Robins also make this their home, besides many other north- 
ern birds, during the Winter, and as this is the season of the 
year that we grow our vegetables, they are a very useful and 
necessary adjunct to our success. We should, therefore, do all 
we can to encourage them to stay near our vegetable gardens. 
Shrubs and trees, such as are apt to attract birds, should be 
planted, or if already at hand, should not be destroyed. Elders 
often feed large numbers of birds and the small wild fig grown 
upon what is locally known as the wild rubber tree, is greatly 
sought after by all kinds of birds. Dog-wood and wild grapes 
also have a tendency to draw them from outlying districts. Prob- 
ably nothing surpasses the mulberry for alluring birds for this 
purpose. There are a number of early bearing varieties of mul- 
berries that can be planted and many of our tropical fruits, such 
as the mango and Surinam cherry, are much sought after by 
these little friends. Woe be to the man who is so avaricious as to 
shoot a bird which pilfers a few of his fruits ! Every time 
he kills one to save a few cents worth of fruit he is virtually 
destroying dollars. I was once tempted to shoot a lark that was 
caught pecking holes in half grown tomatoes ; upon examining his 
stomach I found the heads of thirty-six cut worms therein. I have 
never shot a lark since that day nor permitted one to be killed 
on my place by any one else. 




CHAPTER XXXVII. 

SUMMARY. 

SUITABLE finale for this effort would em- 
body more thought and labor than one of the 
pioneer order can be expected to have at his 
command, but I deem a word in regard to 
the future development of this great country 
as at least not out of place. My prophecy is 
that this great Everglade district will not only, 
develop into a most beautiful and prosperous 
country, but will in a short time prove itself the Eden of North 
America. 

Imagine one solid body of rich soil, embodying several millions 
of acres of land, all under a natural system of sub-irrigation, 
surrounded by the tropical waters of the Gulf Stream and con- 
nected on all sides by numerous deep canals, fanned by the con- 
genial warmth of the trade winds — a veritable giant greenhouse, 
basking under a Florida sun by day and under the dome of an 
Italian sky by night. With these prosperous conditions once 
exploited, backed by adequate capital, it will be easily possible 
to travel across the entire peninsula on beautiful, wide palm-lined 
boulevards in a few hours' time. 

Come ! O, come with me, down to the Everglades L 



139 



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